Suffer in Silence
by vhengence.payne
Summary: Left by the Cullens, turtured by Victoria and stuck with the Volturi for the last 350 yrs Isabella's time to be free aproches. Her revenge is just arround the corner and Alice and Edward are on the menu. Warning may be a trigger to some readers, mentions of rape included as well as a fair bit of volence and torture
1. the suffer in silence type

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

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She stood silently as she surveyed the lands; watching and waiting, knowing that the time would soon come. As she waited, a distinct memory of the first day at a new school surfaced; a time when her innocence was still intact. A time long before the horrors and depravities of life slowly phlebotomized said innocence from her, leaving her jaded and seemingly cold-hearted.

The memory was clouded somewhat; it was a lot like trying to see through a fog. A boy was blithering about taking a photo or something along those lines, and a reference was made that she was the type to suffer in silence. Whether it was her or the boy who made the remark, it had long been forgotten. But that observation, that character flaw comparatively speaking, remains even now, stronger than ever; leading to her reputed cold-heartedness.

If only they knew that she was not really cold-hearted, rather, it was more like she had learned over time to bury all emotion, bar indifference, as a mere means of survival.

Most will put a wall around their heart when they have truly been hurt; a form of defense, or reflex. However, with the right set of circumstances, that wall, which seems all but impenetrable, can be breached.

Her walls, however, had been forged through not only hurt, but horrors that very few could conceive, let alone survive, disappointments beyond comprehension, and betrayals that are unfathomable. All of these events had not just left non-cognitive consequences; they affected her mind, her body and her soul. No part of what or who she was, was left untouched; not just physically, but psychologically and emotionally as well.

The façade of indifference hid the soul of a righteous woman, who through all her destitution, can still say to this day that she has never harmed anyone who is pure at heart, regardless of the species. All those who have encountered her have learned one way or another, that under no circumstances can she be forced or persuaded to act otherwise, regardless of the consequences.

As she continued to observe the city below, she spotted a man stalking his prey. A young child around nine or ten, she could guess, was leaving a friend's place after joining their family for supper, as her mother had to work late. The girl was making her way back home after bidding goodnight to her friend and thanking the parents.

Her home was only a block and a half away, and she had made this journey many times before. So the prospect of walking home alone even at such an hour didn't seem as challenging as it might have otherwise.

On her way home, the girl had to pass a few dark allies. She had passed them before and so far they haven't given her any reason to be bothered by them. However, tonight was different; the light outside the last alley had mysteriously stopped working, and it was in this alley that the man was lurking.

From her perch high above, Isabella saw all this and knew it was the time to act. Her leather jacket that reached her knees billowed out behind her as she flung herself from the apartment building that she had been using as her observation deck. Landing with her right knee bent, and her left just millimeters from the ground, her fingertips touched the pavement minutely to serve her purpose of absolute stealth. The only sound that could be heard was the rush of air from her drop from high then there was stillness again.

Without delay, she straightened up, ghosted from her current position, and then she was looming behind the man 9 blocks away. In a matter of moments and minimum efforts, her hand was clamped over his mouth, pulling him within the shadows of the alley. They disappeared to the darkest corner of the ally, just as the girl appeared from around the corner, passing the alley quickly because to the lack of light. She listened to the footsteps of the little girl against the stone ground, as she hurried into the safety of her home, completely oblivious to the torturous fate that she had just narrowly escaped.

Listening intently to the sound of the door slamming shut behind the girl, Isabella whispered into the man's ear, "That girl has escaped your torture, your compulsion to rape the innocence out of young girls. I can tell that many before her have fallen victim to you, and if left to your own devices; many more will after this. I cannot stand by and let this happen by your hand ever again. Have any of your previous victims survived?"

Unable to speak with his mouth covered, he could only nod.

"And how long were they in your merciless care?" She hissed, her eyes narrowing.

The man mumbled against her palm, but with her hearing she was easily able to understand the incoherent muffle, "A week."

Disgusted, but not surprised, she replied, "Fortunately for you, I do not play with my food. But hopefully whatever happens to your putrid soul after your death will be a fitting punishment for your crimes. For I will not blacken mine further by punishing you, as you certainly should be before your death." She growled through clenched teeth.

She struck with a swiftness afforded by her species and drained the blood from his body, not even sparing herself a moment to savor the untainted taste of his blood. She drank until his heart stopped beating, ripping his head from his body to make sure that there is no possibility of him turning.

She promptly disposed of the body in a dumpster a few blocks away, lighting it so that no traces were left of that vile human.

Taking the small mirror out from her pocket, she peered into it to make sure that no trickle of blood was left on her mouth as she waited patiently outside the young girl's small but neat townhouse for her mother to show up. Her mother arrived not long after.

Isabella approached the mother as a concerned citizen, "Excuse me ma'am, I don't mean to intrude." She paused momentarily for the woman to get over her astonishment at Isabella's appearance, all dressed in black leather, but the manners of a truly caring soul, before continuing, "But I noticed your daughter walking home alone from a friend's house after hearing her tell her friend that you had to work late."

The woman nodded at Isabella, affirming the story. Isabella continued grimly, "I also noticed a man watching her, so I thought I'd best follow her to ensure that she arrived home unharmed. I wish to know if there is perhaps any way in which I can assist you to prevent her from having to walk home alone after dark in the future."

As her words sunk in, the woman looked absolutely horrified as the prospect what could have happened to her child drew to her mind. Isabella watched her press a hand to her mouth in relief, "Oh! Thank you so much for seeing her home safely. I don't know how I can repay you, but if there is _anything_ I can do," she repeated earnestly, _"anything_ at all, please just let me know. I work nights twice a week to make ends meet. Normally the old woman next door watches Gabrielle for me, but she had to visit her sick daughter and help her with her kids this week. I couldn't afford a babysitter. I don't know what to do now, I don't think I can work nights after what could have occurred tonight, but if I don't," the woman looked distraught, "I don't know how I will be able to make ends meet."

She started to sob. Tears running down her face, she fought the intense urge to run inside and check if her daughter indeed was truly safe.

Isabella thought for a moment, before saying, "I have an acquaintance that is looking for a Personal Assistant. No experience required. It's a 9-5 job, if any over time _is_ required, she would allow you to bring your daughter to work, or you could hire a sitter if necessary; the pay is above average, if you are willing to work hard. She owes me a debt of gratitude much like yourself now, and she will give you the job, if you want it. As for your debt, there may come a time where you may help someone in just the way Jenny will help you now, no questions asked. Is this acceptable to you?"

The woman looked like she was in a daze, and blinked a couple of times before recovering, "Yes, yes, thank you. You have saved us twice this night, you are truly an angel." The woman smiled, still unable to believe her good fortune.

"Go inside now, and check on your daughter. Then grab a pen and paper and I'll give you the information you need."

The words were barely out of her mouth, before the woman darted inside. She found her daughter sound asleep and grabbed a notebook and pen from beside the phone and rushed back outside and handed it over to Isabella.

"This is Jenny's direct line. Tell her Isabella told you to ring about the P.A. job. Also, tell her this is her debt being repaid and the job will be yours."

"Isabella? Is that your name?" At Isabella's nod, she continued, "I apologize that I didn't introduce myself earlier, but I'm Julia. Thank you so much for all your help." Julia sighed out in relief and a little embarrassment.

"You're welcome," Isabella merely said, "Keep your daughter safe, and bring her up the best you can. Goodbye." The last word spoken in barely a whisper, and just like that, Isabella disappeared into the night once again.

With a heavy sigh of resignation, Isabella returned to the castle, and back to her captors. The only thing that kept her bound there, was the thought of preventing any harm to come to the Cullens. Although they are blissfully unaware that she was serving their punishment, she also knew that most of them would not be able to mentally survive fifty years in the Volturi's service.

Fifty years for each of the member who broke the law. 350 years in total. She had already served the better part of it, 349 and a half of those dreary years, of which, only 250 of those years were served gladly.

Alice and Edward's years, fifty for each, did nothing but piss her off something awful. However, unfortunately for her, it had been an all or nothing deal. But now, there was only six months to go before she could start her own mission of taking care of those who had wronged her. Alice and Edward just happened to be on top of her list.


	2. a series of unfortunate events

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue improvements. Those brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

As I made my way back up to the castle, I couldn't help but reflect back on the series of unfortunate events that led me to where I am now. The first was not my 18th birthday party. It wasn't even the day of that baseball game.

'No, the first event was long before,' Now I could recall it more vividly than ever, owing to the prowess that my species possess it general, 'When I was only at the tender age of five.'

I returned home after playing with my childhood friend, Jacob. We had been making mud pies in his back yard in La Push, when an older boy named Sam strolled up to us.

He had looked down his nose at me, "Hey, look what we have here. It's the pale-faced slut's daughter. Be careful, Jacob, or her mother will fuck your dad too. Wouldn't be surprised if she grows up to be just like her mum; a slut who opens her legs for just anyone." He said with a sneer.

I had a good idea as to what he was implying. I may have been only five, but I was pretty smart for my age. I couldn't believe the words he was saying. While Jacob just looked on in confusion, I had understood. I had accidentally watched a bit of Jerry Springer, and heard the words before. Renée had explained to me exactly what they meant, so I knew why they were bad words, and shouldn't repeat them.

As expected, I became distraught over what Sam had said. Sarah, Jake's mum had Renée pick me up. I cried all the way home. After going inside, she got me to tell her what happened. I was reluctant at first but eventually she told me, in an act of persuasion, "Look honey, I know I said not to use bad words but just for this once, you can say them and not get in trouble. I need to know what this boy said to you."

So I told her everything, and she was livid; not at me but at what was said. Renée ordered me upstairs to my room at once, and told me to start packing a bag. Bewildered at her fierce tone, I had complied.

Later that evening my father arrived home from work. He had no idea about what had occurred earlier that day. Renée rounded on him as soon as he hung up his gun belt and began yelling at him about leaving, not being able to stand living in a small town any longer, not being able to stand the gossip, rumors or lack of privacy, and how she felt suffocated.

The last words she spoke to him were, "This town is draining the life out of me, and I want to get out while I can. I'm taking Bella with me, and you can't stop me. I won't let Forks damage her as well."

Charlie was in such a state of shock that he could barely hug me, before I was dragged out of the door, and towards the car packed with most of our clothes and not much else. I was put in my seat and buckled in, and soon Renée was driving us out of Forks and into what she believed was a better life.

'Better for her maybe,' I snorted to myself, 'But certainly not for me.'

The next eleven years of my life were spent moving from place to place. I have lived in over two dozen houses, attended just as many schools, and seen over a dozen different states. Two weeks a year I spent in Forks with my dad. I don't think even the army brats move so much.

At the age of seven, it became my job to look after the household, inclusive of preparing the budget, shopping for groceries, cleaning the house, cooking the meals, packing lunch for Renée and myself, and making sure she made it to work on time.

By the age of eight, I was an expert on hangover remedies. By twelve, I had a black belt in 5 different martial arts. And at thirteen, won my first underground street fight. The street fighting brought in a lot of money, and with it I was easily able to pay all the bills. I couldn't rely on Renee's income any longer; she spent it mostly on going out, partying and bringing men home.

One of these men was the reason why I began to learn to fight by own battles. I needed to know how to defend myself. He was also the reason for our first state move. Renée and Arron had been dating for a few weeks, before she felt it was fine to leave her seven year old daughter in his care when she had to work late.

It started with small touches here and there, and him insisting that he be present while I had my bath. That really disturbed me. Next he started wanting to help me wash as well. It was a few weeks later that he went too far, and innocent touches crossed the line to criminal. Mum came home to find me screaming, and was terrified to see what he had done. She screamed at him to leave or threatened to call to cops. But he had just laughed at her face.

I was tied down and forced to watch him violate Renée in front of me. He beat her, and he did unspeakable things to her. And constantly looking at my lower unclothed body, I was able to pick up the phone and dial 911. I couldn't speak to them without Arron overhearing it, so I just left the phone off the hook, so the dispatcher could hear what was going on.

Minutes later the police arrived and held nothing back as they arrested him and took him into custody in shackles. By the next night we were in a new state, and enrolled in a self-defense course. Naturally, Renée gave up after a few lessons, but I kept going. I had decided I didn't want to be a victim ever again. After I finished that course, I enrolled in more martial arts.

While I was training every evening, Renée was trying to pick up a new man every other evening. It seemed she couldn't stand being single for long and felt the need of a strong man to look after her. The several relationships, I take the liberty to use that term loosely, each lasted less than a few months. Renée would break up with the current one in the afternoon, and be on the prowl at a bar that very night looking for another to patch up with. This pattern continued until she brought the wrong one home, every time.

By the age eight, I was the one defending her and throwing them out, and we would be in a new place by the end of the week. It became like a ritual of sorts. She never did question how I managed to do all that. But it's just like Renée to not sweat the details.

At fourteen, I was a pro at already having everything set up in a new location by the time we had to move again. After all these time, I could by then, sense when she brought home the wrong one. It was a feeling I would get; like I could tell their soul was dark, darker than black. I would start the process of moving as soon as I saw them, including new school for me, new work for mum and a new place to live.

I was lucky I was smart enough to home school myself most of the time. The internet is a wonderful piece of technology. I mainly went to school just to take the exams, and so that Mum didn't get into any trouble with the law about me not attending school, which is a mandatory process. I got the reputation for being clumsy to cover up for my injuries from all the street fighting. I would act it up and encourage anyone around me to believe it.

It was not long after I turned sixteen, that Renée met Phil. Now, Phil, I could see was a pure soul. Although he was a lot younger than Renée, he had the zest for life, which she needed. By the time I was seventeen, he had moved in and they were married. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend fights on the nights he was home. I was still able to train, saying that I was at the library. The fights on the other hand, started too late and he would know something was going on, if I came home that late, and injured. But his job kept him away a lot, so I was still able to make ends meet.

I saw the longing on Mum's face every time he had to leave, and knew that she wanted to go with him, which was fine by me, but Phil didn't feel right about me being left alone for so long. I decided to pack up once again, and move back to Forks with Charlie. It was in Forks, that I was made a victim for the first time since I was seven.

It was in biology that first day at Forks High that the manipulations and dazzling began. I was thought to be shy because I kept to myself, but I had learned at a young age, that I could only trust myself to look after myself. The dazzling, however, kept me meek, and because I was trying to fight off the effects, it truly made me clumsy. It wasn't just Edward that was dazzling me, but Alice as well.

The Bella that the Cullens knew in Forks, was not the real me, but quickly became a creation of Alice and Edward. The rest of the family was unaware, but I think subconsciously Rosalie knew and that's why she was always so cold towards me; trying to keep me away from them in the only way that she could without making eyes turn her way. You could say that it worked to an extent; but alas, this only made them dazzle me more and more.

When Edward left me in the woods, it gave me exactly what I needed to break free from the chains that he and his sister bound me with. What was merely an act of him disposing of an unwanted toy, became one of their biggest mistakes of their lives. Edward really should have killed me then, but that is a lesson that I will make sure he learns the hard way; him and his pathetic little sister.

'To the rest of the Cullens, I was family... But to the twisted twins I was only a pet, a toy,' I seethed to myself, 'and I wasn't even the only one.' My eyes flashed dangerously at the thought.

Jasper was their pet as well. They had been manipulating him and playing on his insecurities for a much longer time than they did with me; because of his past. They were able to mold him into their pet guard dog; forcing him to slip from the 'vegetarian' diet, unbeknownst, to anyone else, to keep him in line. It is unfortunate that he could sense other's bloodlust. Jasper lost faith in his instincts, and went from being a confident leader to a submissive servant to the evil pixie's whims.

But very soon he will see what was really going on. Soon he will be able to regain who he once was.

'Only six more months,' I found myself restless for the day to come; so very near, yet so far.

It will all start with me giving him Maria's head on a silver platter; literally.


	3. back at the castle

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue improvements. Those brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

I arrived back at the castle just as dawn was breaking on the horizon. I was happy I could help that family.

'And of course the meal helped too,' I added to myself.

Aro detests the fact that I hunt criminals, and even more my refusal to feed on the people that Heidi brings in. It is a small victory to annoy him at any turn, and he allows my feeding habits since it is only my honor that keeps me loyal to him and his brothers.

I supposed Aro was getting a little twitchy that my time serving them was coming to an end. And the knowledge that threatening the Cullens again to keep me bound here for another century or two, will only result to his head sitting beside Maria's in my bedroom.

Aro had a thirst for power, an even greater zest for collecting power that was only one of its kind. He has already tried to have Chelsea bind me to him on many accounts. It had turned out to be an epic failure on his part at every instance. I had taken a great pleasure from his look of astonishment when I had finally told him that if he ever tried that on me again, or had Chelsea use her gift on anyone, vampire or human whom I claim as mine; I just might find myself shielding Marcus.

Aro knew that both Marcus and I were painfully aware of the fact that he was the one to kill Marcus's mate, who was also Aro's sister. The only thing keeping Aro alive was Chelsea's hold on him. His look of utter horror would have had me in hysterics, had it not been for the impassive mask that I had learned to carve for myself in the time I spent with Victoria.

Victoria, yet again, was another of Edward's fuck-ups. She tortured me for three years; torture that included rape, genital mutilation, beatings, cutting, having venom enter my system through a bite only to have it removed 10 minutes later and almost any other physical torture you could imagine.

The venom was her favorite form of physical torture. She indulged in this at least once a day. The trace amount of venom left behind slowly began to change me. She was thrilled with this discovery, as it led to my body being able to withstand more punishment.

The psychological damage was another thing all together. I was forced to watch as one by one everyone that I had ever cared about, died in the most painful of ways; the newer wolves that phased after my capture, took their last breath, blaming and hating me. The deaths of the wolves were the worst to watch.

As far as the punishment went, they suffered before their hearts gave out. But the most heart breaking was those of Kim, Emily, and even my mother. They all were heavily pregnant when they were brought in for me to watch them suffer.

Edward and Alice weren't affected by Victoria's revenge, yet every non-vampire was.

'Their time will come,' I thought viciously; I've had 350 years to plan my revenge.

Victoria met the same fate as Maria, except her head is mounted on my wall; Maria's sits on the mantel.

I was roused from my musings by Jane. She sneered at me, "Master Aro requests your presence in the throne room."

What could I say, she didn't like me and the feeling was mutual, even though we each had very different reasons. Jane hated the fact that I didn't always obey her master, and that I didn't show him what she deemed to be the proper respect. I refused to abase myself before the pompous ass, and I think it offended her sensibilities.

On the contrary, I found Jane to be the spoiled little brat who ran to Aro if she couldn't get her own way. Aro obviously indulged her, if he could; but he couldn't make me lower my shield around Felix and Demetri, just so Jane could use her gift on them to watch them in pain. I had a feeling that when I did leave this place, those two would follow. I even discovered recently that they too had given up Heidi's 'fish' in favor of my criminal-only-diet, much to Aro's displeasure.

I arrived at the throne room. Standing before the brothers, I simply nodded my head at them in acknowledgement, as opposed to the full on bowing and going to my knees. My lips twitched slightly at the grimace on Aro's face as I once again refused to partake in all his pomp and circumstance.

Caius almost smiled; I think if he did, the guards would die from shock. Caius and I have a mutual respect, maybe even mild affection, for each other. However, anything more than mild is beyond what either of us is capable of feeling. It developed when he decided he would take over my training, and made me his personal guard after he had found me so weak that my shield could no longer protect me from Jane.

I was lying prostrate on the dungeon floor with my arms and legs removed, and hadn't fed in almost six months. This was about 100 years into my time here. Jane was having fun using her gift on me; yet I still refused to utter a sound, nevertheless, my face betrayed the pain that I was in. He ordered Jane to leave and to stand guard outside the door; no one was to enter until he allowed it.

Caius approached me slowly, and told me that he was going to reattach my limbs and then fetch one of the human scum from the cells to feed me. Once I had fed, he asked me how I was able to withstand Jane's power so silently.

"It is simple, really," I told him once I'd regained my voice, "Jane's power feels like venom running through a human's veins. I had felt that at least once a day for over three years and that wasn't even the only physical pain inflicted on me at the time. I was able to stop reacting to pain within the first two months."

I told him that it took three days for normal vampires to turn, but the process could take as long as seven days. I had felt the pain of the change while under torture for over three years.

"Not days," I repeated to him, "Years."

Then I told him that despite my sufferings, I was determined not to give into Victoria's desire to hear me scream, and by some miracle, I did it. She wanted to hear me scream, but I was too stubborn to give her what she wanted.

"Now I have her head mounted on my wall. I think her red hair adds that little touch of color that my cell needs." I cocked my head thoughtfully.

Caius had chuckled softly at my last statement, but had looked at me with slight awe.

He had said to me, "Isabella, I am dumbfounded at what you have survived. I think it may have been by sheer stubbornness, which I can relate to." He laughed a short laugh, "I remember when you were first brought in to see us; you were still human. Barely, but still human. You stood in a room full of vampires with your back straight and your head held high. I was surprised at how well you held yourself and the confidence that radiated from you," then his voice fell into a whisper, "I was stunned again when you offered yourself in place of the Cullens, so that they wouldn't have to suffer."

I had gulped; my throat gone dry.

Caius continued, "I also agreed with your assessment that many of them would not have survived the fifty years without lighting their own pyre and stepping into it. But that does not mean that you should be tortured more, just because Aro wants to indulge Jane. I can see you have a warrior's heart, and if you agree, I will train you to be one of my personal guards for the remainder of your time here."

I had listened to the king talk and found myself thinking that he was not cruel as he was perceived, but he was exacting and he gave no second chances. He valued warriors, those who were willing to fight for what they believe in, and yet, he appreciated stubbornness.

"Caius, I will not lie and promise you that I will be a good little vampire," I took in a deep breath, not because I needed it, but because it felt much better now, "However, I can promise you that I will follow your orders if they do not contradict my morals. I will show you respect, as you have earned it, but I will never bow down to you as though you are a god. I will **not** worship you. I will **not** tolerate any kind of manipulation." I paused to watch him looking intently at me, and smiled tentatively, "If you think you can deal with that, I believe we will have a rather agreeable relationship."

I had proceeded to study him as he mulled over my speech. At last, he asked, tapping his chin, "And what will go against your morals?"

"I will not do anything to harm a pure soul. That is the main one. And to give you an idea about why I'm down here, it was because Aro wanted me to kill off a coven just because he wanted the gift one of their vampires had. This gift protected them from the rest of the guard, so I was sent. I was told falsified stories of crimes they had not committed, and merely ordered to kill on site."

Yes, I could remember Aro's anger very well, when he discovered that I hadn't taken him at his word, and observed the coven instead. I had watched them, and they had appeared an innocent coven, who kept to themselves and lived peacefully. I had then approached them to inform them of the target on their back and to be careful before returning to the castle.

Soon I was called back to see Aro, and found that his little pet witch had been sent to follow me. I was sent to the dungeon for refusing to follow a direct order; that was not the first time I had been sent there for similar reasons.

I had explained it all to Caius, and shrugged and said, "So, you see, if your orders contradict my morals, I will have no problem defying you." I told him like it was a really simple concept to grasp.

We had talked long into the night after that.

That's how it had all begun; I was trained by Caius and soon became part of his personal guard.

The doors banged open, bringing my attention back to the present, as an arrogant vampire walked in to the throne room. He walked up to the brothers, and bowed lowly,where he stayed on a bended knee. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him. He began carrying on about his mate being torn apart by werewolves, how they did not need the moon to change, how they were just passing through, and how there was no warning whatsoever.

'It sounds like shifters,' I mused to myself, 'but if it was, then the area would be marked.'

Caius knew of the shifter packs as well. I had informed him about the La Push pack before he wanted to go after a different guardian tribe. However, I was able to convince him to leave them be, as they did not hunt vampires down, but only protected their own tribe. The area was too well-marked to warn of the danger, and he agreed that any vampire that entered their land deserved the fate that came their way.

If this nomad was telling the truth about the shifters, then these shifters seemed to have gone rogue...

'...Or he is lying about receiving no warning,' I growled to myself, my eyes narrowing.

"Where did this occur?" Aro asked the nomad.

"Washington USA, near Forks."


	4. truble back home

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue improvements. Those brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

"Washington, USA, near Forks."

The words were roaring through my head, that I almost missed what Caius said next.

"Well, as this is more my area than yours, brother, I think this matter should be left to me."

I knew Caius was doing it for me; so that there could be a chance of saving the wolves; but I think Aro would fight him on it just to spite me. Aro has done all he can to penalize me ever since Caius found me in that dungeon two-hundred years ago. It irritated him that Caius stole his opportunity of making yet pet, out of me. But what Aro failed to realize, and that Caius recognized, was that no matter what was done to me, I wouldn't break.

'And one day,' I smiled to myself, 'very soon, I will be free.'

I gave my word that I would be loyal to the Volturi for the term of my three-hundred-fifty year sentence. And once I give my word, I always keep it. My vow to them would keep Aro safe for now, but as soon as my incarceration would be finished, my word to be loyal and harm them, would cease to be in effect.

Caius and Marcus were safe from any backlash that I had been forced to endure as punishment, as they did what they thought was just, and never crossed any lines into sheer evil. If they gave out the death sentence, it was well deserved.

Aro, however did what he did just because he could; because he wanted more power, extra control, and no one but I would stand against him bar Caius. Even then it was only for what he knew about Aro. Aro had attempted to break me, to control me, to own me. He had failed, and his failure will be what leads to his ultimate demise. No; I wouldn't kill him straight away. But secrets revealed can be a powerful thing.

'And unfortunately for him,' I laughed silently, 'I know all his secrets.'

It was Marcus's voice breaks the squabbling that was going on between Aro and Caius.

"I believe, brothers, that regardless of who is in charge of this mess, it will ultimately be Isabella who goes to seek the truth of the matter. Why not sent her with Felix and Demetri to Washington so that they can find out what is going on, and report back to all of us? We can then ALL," he said it pointedly, his eyes flashing, "decide on where to go from there."

Marcus rarely spoke, so when he did, everyone took the time to listen. Aro could not argue with what had been suggested without looking like a spoiled child, so he gave his consent; I for one, could clearly see that his heart wasn't into it. Aro was not pleased with the turn of events, but his hands were tied and I absolutely loved it.

And then it really sunk in. I was going back to Forks. I'm going to have to face the new pack, knowing it was because of my relationship with the last pack, that they were killed.

'Well, this shouldn't be awkward at all,' I told myself scathingly.

We were dismissed, when Demetri just had to approach me and inform me the one thing that could make this trip worse in every way possible.

"The Cullens are in Forks."


	5. The offer

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue improvements. Those brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

"The Cullens are in Forks."

'Well now,' I sighed, 'awkward doesn't even begin to describe how this trip will go.'

I was beyond hoping not to have to encounter the Cullens until I was absolutely free of the Volturi. As I began walking to my room to pack, I was surprised by the voice behind me that hailed me to a stop.

"Isabella, may Caius and myself have a word with you in my office before you pack your belongings and depart for your mission?" Marcus's somber, yet kind voice requested.

"Of course, Marcus, shall I follow you there now?" I asked, with a respectful nod of my head.

He simply turned and strode gracefully to his vampire sound proof office as an answer. I followed behind, and upon entering and closing the door behind me, took my usual seat. Caius was already there waiting for us, seated on his plush recliner that he favored whenever Aro was not present.

I was curious as to what this meeting was about. I knew it couldn't be too bad, as Aro wasn't in attendance, and it was in Marcus' office, not Caius's. If it were official and Aro was allowed to be privy to the discussion, then it would be in Caius's office which was not sound proof and one of the guards would have fetched me, not Marcus himself.

Marcus and I had a strange relationship. Where he was withdrawn and somber due to the loss of his mate Didyme, I was closed off to almost all emotion from my years of hardships that most would never survive. We had an accord. At a time to be chosen by Marcus himself, I would shield him from Chelsea's influence. He felt the time wasn't right yet, I had given my word that when he requested, I would do it no questions asked.

He understood why I didn't let anyone in. He and Caius were the only one who knew my full story, and they held me in reasonably high regard for my ability to not only survive everything I went through, but also to remain true to who I really was at the core. They also knew those whom I held responsible; and that I was biding my time to take my revenge on all of whom I deemed necessary. The fact that Aro happened to be on the list, didn't bother them too deeply.

I was pulled from my thoughts by Caius, "Isabella, we were wondering. When you leave our service in a few months' time, were you planning on taking Demetri and Felix along with you?"

I smiled at them momentarily; a rare sight altogether.

"If you are inquiring as to whether I was going to steal them away from your guard, then no. I will not be asking them to join me. However, if they themselves request to leave in my company, I will not be the one to stop them. The choice is theirs alone; I will not try to sway them in any way. Regardless of their choice, I will still continue to shield them. I have become not so much as attached, but rather accustomed to their presence, and having them around me is not wholly unpleasant." I replied honestly, as well as with respect.

The two in question had gained my respect during a mission when they risked their lives to return for me to prevent further harm coming to me. The risk of death didn't apply to me as the only way to completely kill a vampire is by fire. I discovered on that mission that my slow transformation made me fireproof for some unknown reason. My shield can also protect others from fire, if I will it to do so.

My shield has many aspects to it, depending on how I choose to wield it. The mental side of my shield is the easiest to manipulate, as that aspect was present when I was still human, and my control over it only strengthened in my time with the red-headed bitch. Besides that, I could choose to completely block all powers from being useable on someone I shield, or just certain ones. Furthermore, I can also shield from just part of a gift.

Marcus is my best example. I have him shielded from all gifts that affect his ability to function normally. Like Alec and Jane's gift; Alec's would stop him from being able to do anything at all, and Jane's would incapacitate him in a similar yet opposite manner, whereas Chelsea's does not affect his normal functioning as he can still do what he pleases, but his loyalties are manufactured. So, her gift still works.

I also have him partly shielded from Aro. To put it simply, I have created a safe within Marcus's mind. Aro can read any thought that is not in the safe, so any thought that Marcus doesn't wish Aro to read, he can merely lock in his safe. I have done the same for Caius, except I have blocked all gifts except Aro's, which is partly blocked; just like Marcus.

The two kings nodded.

"Marcus and I have conferred for a while now with regards to your upcoming departure, and we have come up with an offer for you. It is your choice whether you take us up on it or not. We were going to wait until your time was up to present it to you. You, like us, must recognize that even if Demetri and Felix wished to leave, outside forces may hinder them. Considering the current turn of events, we have come to the agreement that it would benefit all involved if the offer was to be made now, rather than later."

At this point Marcus takes over, "We are aware that you didn't plan on encountering the Cullens until after your time was up, but due to the circumstances being what they are, that is no longer possible. So we propose an alternative. We would like to set up a post in Americas. So far as to say that the said post will be made up of a select few guards who will answer to Caius and myself only."

"In effect any Volturi matter on American soil would be taken care of by these guards. To be effective, we think it would need a minimum of five members, though more would be beneficial. Aro will have no authority over them, and we would like you to lead them."

They paused to let their words sink in. I could see the benefits of their idea, but wondered why they were offering this to me.

Caius must have picked up on my thoughts, because he explained, "If you chose this option, you would only be obligatory to us as an underling until your time is up. After which point you will in essence become a queen, but your queendom would be limited to America and surrounding countries like Canada and Mexico. Furthermore. you would be only as answerable to us, as much as we are to each other."

"As Caius has said, you will be an equal to us so to speak. And to answer your question... why you? In your time here, we have both seen your sense of fair play and justice. You understand the need to keep our laws and police our people. You also show an ability to find a punishment to fit the crime, by thinking outside the box, though so far, you have not had much chance to do this. We feel that by giving you this responsibility, it may also bring meaning back to your life. As soon as you become Queen, you may run your territory without interference from us, as long as you keep and uphold our laws. We hope you will still keep in contact with us and confer with us if you are unsure at any point, or wish for advice. We would also advise you of any problem that is brought to us in regards to your domain, as we would expect you to advise us of any that go outside of it."

It was a lot to take in. I mean, wow, I didn't know what to think about all this, but my main concern was how Aro would take it if I agreed. I couldn't see this being something he would go along with.

I chose my words with care, "This offer is a lot to consider, and I can't, in good conscience, give an answer without giving it the proper thought that it deserves. I know my main concern at the moment is Aro. I just don't see him allowing," I paused, but finding no words to describe the situation, I only emphasized, _"This."_

Caius was quick to put my fears at ease.

"We understand that, and we would be equally uneasy if you didn't need the time to think it all over. All we wish you to decide on now, is whether you will agree to head the post until your time is up. The rest can be dealt with and discussed at a later date." He shifted minutely, and then continued, "As for Aro, I wouldn't worry too much. While you still answer to us, he can't really do anything, unless he wants to start a palace coup. As for after your sentence ends, it would be a case of you giving us your word that you wouldn't prevent Chelsea's gift from being used on subjects outside your domain, or on those whom who do not carry your seal, in exchange for his compliance. There are a lot of vampires in the guard who are only loyal to him through Chelsea's gift, and who would love nothing more than to have him turned into a pile of ashes. Aro will not risk his safety for the sake of America, or its surrounding areas. He will decide to save his own neck," At this, a smirk tugged at the corner of Caius's lips, "Trust me."

The more I thought about it, sitting there in front of the two kings, the more it started to sound like a good offer. America ha a lot of guardian tribes, and to have them under my domain, so to speak, could come of help. I could wiggle room to save the wolves, perhaps, if they hadn't gone rogue.

I tried not to get carried away with the thought; just as Caius said, becoming Queen needs a lot more thought to it. I think leading a base for the next six months would give me a better idea of what to expect if I were, indeed to take up the mantel. But for now, I could see no real downside to that part of the offer, save for the extent of Aro's possible interference.

'Besides, it will give me the freedom to face the Cullens on my own terms,' A small smirk tugged at my lips at the thought.

I spoke clearly, letting them know of the decision that I'd come to, "I agree to the position of head of the American base for the time being. And I promise to think over the matter, and give my decision with regards to the rest of your offer, by the time my time in your service is over. I assume that two of the four other guards that you want me to take along with me at this post will be Felix and Demetri. Who are the others?"

A faint smile touched both their lips, no doubt at me answer. It was rather surreal to see such an expression on their face, and I think it felt rather strange to them too. I think it was the first time in a while that either of them had done so.

"We thought we would leave that up to you," Caius answered, smile gone as quickly as it appeared.

I pondered over it for a minute and remembered Garret and Peter.

'Crafty little fuckers, those two,' I bit my lips a little, just for effect, thinking about how Aro would just love to get his hands on them for some of the shit they have pulled, 'Hmm...'

It would piss Aro off to know that they were working for his brothers, and if I decide to take the throne so to speak, it would make them completely untouchable to Aro. That might just be enough to sway both of them to come work for me. They had been involved in the mess that ended Maria.

'Besides,' a part of my head purred, 'it was Peter's suggestion that Maria's head would be the best present for the Major...'

...And hopefully, would also make up for me leaving him with that manic midget for so long.

"Would any guard at this post be free of Aro's interference? Can you tell for certain that Aro would have no authority over any of them?" I asked to clarify before I put the names forward.

"That is correct. I'm guessing by your question, you have two vampires in mind," Marcus answered, his lips pursed.

"Yes," I agreed, "And I believe that they will do it for no reason other than to piss off Aro. But they would only agree for the time I am there, so their contract would need to be renegotiated in six months' time for any further service required from them."

"That is fine. Hopefully, by then, that will be your problem. Who did you have in mind, now, Isabella?"

"Garret Adams and Peter Whitlock," I could not help the smirk that broke over my lips.

Caius's face matched mine when he heard the names. He knew those two were behind a lot of stress for Aro; and Caius just loved to watch Aro squirm.

In a few minutes time, all the details were ironed out, and I was off to my room to pack everything for my move. We had the use of a new jet that was being allocated for my post, so I could take everything I wished with me. There were even hidden compartments in the jet for me to hide the heads in.

I stopped by Demetri and Felix's room, first to tell them about the change of plans, so they could pack as well. Marcus told me there was already a five bedroom house set up in Seattle, ready for our use as well as an isolated mansion in Texas to use as our main base. There are also houses in every state; ready to go anytime, so we didn't have to worry about accommodation when we traveled, along with a list of contacts for donated blood if we found ourselves in need.

'Apparently they have a set up where vampires can buy donated blood that is deemed unusable for humans and is sold to,' I snorted to myself, ''test facilities'.'

A few hours later, we were on our way to Forks. I had rung Garret and Peter already, and they agreed to meet us at the airport with cars to move our stuff. We would take it all to the Seattle house and then ship what we wanted to Texas.

Going back home was looking better and better.

AN: Garret's last name is not a creation of my own. I have seen a few authors use it, so am unsure who to credit it to.

Thanks for reading, and please review.


	6. Queen BIC

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

Going back home was looking better and better.

On the flight to Seattle I thought about what I needed to do before confronting the wolves. The brothers had pretty much given me free reign over what happens there, as long as I get their approval on the final orders before any action is taken. My first task at hand will be to get rid of these stupid robes. I could see that they look good for a formal setting, but really, for a mission they would be completely impractical if it came to a fight.

'I have more than one scar from these stupid robes getting in the way,' I found myself thinking bitterly, 'They must have been Aro's idea. The idiot wouldn't know his head from his asshole when it came to combat.'

The robes must go, no two ways about it, but I would have to replace them with some form of uniform. Everyone knows when you see the robes, the shit has hit the fan. I was thinking something similar to military fatigues. Maybe all black with the Volturi crest on the sleeves. Not only would they be practical, but they would still manage to look professional, and wouldn't stand out if we were to be seen by humans either. Heck, the principal and most enforced law of their law, is not to let the humans in on the secret. So what, they could dress their guard in something that sticks out like overgrown dogs balls; and expect to not get noticed at all? The extent of Aro's stupidity astounded me sometimes.

We would still have to wear the crest around our neck until word got around about the new dress code, but that would relatively be easy enough to tuck into our shirts if we were to be in public for any reason. I decided to discuss the matter with the team after we got settled.

The next order of business would be about how to approach the wolves. If it was Aro running the show, it would be a contingent of guards showing up and killing them all, however, I was not that insecure, or paranoid, that I would order an all out slaughter just to prove how colossal I am.

'No,' I pursed my lips together, 'I think I'll send a letter to the elders first, and go from there.'

If I played this right, and the wolves haven't indeed gone rogue, then I would, perhaps, be able to enlist their services as guards for this area. After all, I wasn't Aro who was all about micro managing everything; no, I was all for delegating. If I worked it just right, it could benefit both parties. I would ensure the area a vampire free zone, and they would inform me if they noticed anything that look suspicious. They also have someone to call if the problem is vamp related and to big for them especially if it's a small pack.

I would also have to order something for Maria's head. Speaking of which...

'...I need to work out how to approach the Cullens...' I thought to myself. 'Do I just rock up and say 'surprise', or do I go for a more subtle plan of attack? Do I go for the dramatic, or do I mess with them for a bit first? '...Decisions, Decisions. I think I'll pull a Scarlett O'Hara, and think about it more tomorrow.

The pilot calls for us to fasten our seatbelts, and soon we were taxing in to our private hanger. Garrett and Peter were supposed be waiting for us there with the cars. We exited the jet, and once outside, I scanned the area; I spotted them instantly, and have to do a double take.

'Those cheeky fuckers,' I mutter to myself.

I was beginning to reconsider my choice of asking them to join the team. They were standing next to a stretch hummer, dressed as chauffeurs, hat and all; holding a sign with 'Her Royal Pooh Bar and Co' written in large bold letters. They even had little flags on the front of the hummer like you would see on embassy limos. I took a closer look at the flags and see a picture of me in the center and 'Queen B.I.C' under it, done in Volturi colors. If you merely glance at it, they looked very official.

'They put way too much effort into this.' However, this made me more concerned about what else they might have done.

I approached them cautiously, and looked at them through narrowed eyes.

"Queen BIC!" They both chorused together, and took a bow lowly. When they straightened, they had the biggest grins on their face. and I just wanted to slap it off of them.

"What does 'Queen BIC' mean?" Felix asked from behind me, completely perplexed at the name they called me. Peter's grin got even bigger, which I didn't think was possible.

"It's short for Queen. Bitch. In. Charge," he laughed out, winking at me.

I just shook my head at their shenanigans and told them to get the shit off the plane before I hurt them. They walked off laughing, to help Felix and Demetri unload. Demetri brought the box with the heads over and put them in the back seat while the others put the luggage in the boot. Moments later, we were on the way to the house that was set up for us. Marcus had somehow managed to get us diplomatic immunity so we didn't need to sweat through customs or security.

Garret drove, while Peter sat in the back with the rest of us. He pulled out a box from somewhere and handed it to me. Inside was a set of black fatigues with the Volturi crest on the sleeves; just like I had been thinking about on the flight over here. For some reason, the fabric felt different from anything I ever touched, but I couldn't tell exactly why.

"Peter, what is this fabric made of?" I asked.

"Well you see, there's this vampire that Garrett knows that used to be a sheep farmer before he turned. And well, he came up with the idea of turning a few sheep. Turns out, that the wool from vamp sheep can make fabric that is roughly 10 times stronger than Kevlar; he calls it 'vamplar' to non humans. He and his coven started up a business of making protective gear for like the army and secret service and shit. They tested it and it holds up to armor piercing bullets the same as Kevlar does to standard ammo. He tested it to see how it holds up against vampires themselves, and it stops grazing bites from penetrating but won't do much for a direct hit. He actually used it to clothe his youngest members when they were only newborns. He said it's about as strong as normal fabric is to a human, so to rip it takes some effort." Then Peter gave a bark of laughter, "Humans have been trying to find out how he does it, but of course, no one has worked it out yet, or come anywhere close to it."

Peter continued, "Funny thing is, his mate used to make cow hides into leather and turn them into boots and shit. Since the sheep worked so well, they started turning cows to see if they could make vamp strength leather, and next thing you know, you have shoes that can handle our speed too. They also make gloves with sharpened vamp-cow bones on the knuckles. I got a full set for everyone. I just knew everyone would like the new uniform you wanted, so had them ready for when you got here."

Peter's gift must have clued him into what I wanted.

'The cryptic fucker is handy like that,' I mused, turning the fabric over and over in my fingers, 'But most of the time, he just likes to piss people off for shits and giggles.'

Peter's gift wasn't anything like the mutant midget's. He just knew his shit. From what he had told me, most of the shit he got were usually just useless information, like the fact that it is impossible to lick your own elbow,(with it and your tongue still completely attached of course), or that approximately 70% of people who hear this fact will try to lick their elbow. But then again, he will sometimes get the constructive information; like my desire for new uniforms.

We got out of the car when Garett finally pulled up in the driveway. The house itself was in a gated community and all the houses here were cookie cutter houses. The only way to tell one from the other was the number on the letter boxes. It must have been chosen by Marcus or Caius; at least those two know how to blend in. Had it been Aro, he would doubtlessly have chosen something big and gaudy that attracted attention in flocks; something I would have taken a look at, and hopped back in the car and went to find a motel to stay at. This house was, however, just perfect for our needs.

As soon as we entered, we were given a quick rundown of where everything is, and then we reconvened in the TV room. I refused to call it a living room because we were not fucking living. As soon as I sat down, Garrett presented me with two boxes. I opened the flat one with trepidation. You could never know with those two.

Inside was a complete waiter's outfit, white gloves, the whole shebang, and a post it note with 'For Peter To Wear' written on it. Perplexed, I put it aside and proceeded to open the other box, and almost fell off the couch laughing.

It was a silver serving tray with one of those dome lids. The little note attached said:

'Now you can really serve the Major with Maria's head on a silver platter.'


	7. meeting the wolves

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

'Now you can really serve the Major with Maria's head on a silver platter.'

After I had settled down, I quickly jotted down a missive for the elders and send it off by a human messenger. I included of all my contact details and also the contact details for other guardian tribes in the States that I am acquainted with. I was hoping that if they hear from other tribes and how they felt dealing with me; it might endear the elders to me enough to be able to set up a meeting to discuss the issue civilly. Until I heard back one way or the other, we wouldn't be leaving Seattle. Turned out that, we didn't have to wait long for a reply. The messenger returned later that day with an invitation to a meeting in Port Angeles.

The meeting was held in a secluded clearing. Wolves and the elders were present. So as to not startle the wolves, we stopped just inside the tree line and walked at a human pace until we were visible before them, sitting on the ground. Every vampire there had been with me at least a few times, when I had dealt with shifters before; so they knew how I did things. By sitting, I was showing the alpha that we were not offering violence, and instead, allowing them to do what they felt they needed to do before they let us closer to their elders. They seemed startled by our actions.

I knew the instant that they noticed our eye color, as they all started to shake visibly. It was one of the older wolves that asked us how we could be trusted if we feed on humans; he reminded me of Paul.

"If you will allow it, I will explain our feeding habits and reasons for it. Ss I can understand your concerns especially with your elders present," At the alpha's nod, I continue, "It is my understanding that the only vampires you find barely tolerable are those of the golden eyed variety. Though you have been taught to kill red eyes on sight, and with good reason in most cases, I implore you to be open-minded while you listen. We will not move from our position without your permission, but if you feel the need to have some of you phase, to ease your worries we will not take offense as long as they remain a respectful distance. As you are aware, our odors are not exactly pleasant to each other; also if your phased wolves venture too close before any negotiations with regards to how this meeting will continue, we may unintentionally react defensively. This could lead to unneeded chaos and your elders may be harmed in the crossfire. We have positioned ourselves where we have to do our utmost to avoid a situation like that."

The alpha nodded his head and two wolves entered the treeline to phase. When they returned, they flanked the elders but are ahead of them enough so that if they had to attack, the elders wouldn't get hit.

"Thank you for your consideration. We are willing to hear what you have to say, but I honestly do not believe it will change our opinion," The alpha spoke with the usual alpha tenor.

"I understand your position more than you think, if the same legends are still being told that is. Yes, we do feed on humans, but we are very selective. We were given higher brain functions for a reason. Our prey are what we like to call death row criminals. Those who should be on death row, not walking free; like murderers, rapists and pedophiles. We do not prey on petty criminals, as those have the potential to be rehabilitated. We also steer clear of the non violent type like thieves as long as their crimes don't evolve into violence."

She continued, "And if none of our chosen prey are available, we sustain ourselves on donated blood that is unfit for medical use. As to why we feed on human blood, there are two main reasons for that. First, it is dramatically easier to control our blood lust. You could put us in the middle of an O.R. and we could still control our blood lust with relative ease. Our age also helps with that. And to answer your unasked question, I am the youngest at just shy of 350 years as a full vampire."

She paused to let the pack take a breath in, and not to take in a breath herself. While she could function without oxygen, the pack were still part human, not some dead hearts on two feet, and needed to suck in breath.

"And the second reason is rather," she shook her head, smiling a little, "selfish... it is to keep is in peak condition. In a manner of speaking, we are the police and military of our species. Animal blood would deplete us considerably; we would become slower, weaker and our senses would be dulled. It also mellows you out, so to speak. Great for you neighbor, not so great for law enforcement. It would be like getting an out of shape human officer on Prozac to catch a fit and well-trained criminal. Not impossible, but not the most effective means to do things."

When no one said anything, or put forward any protest, that she was expecting, she continued, "Which brings us to the reason that we are here. We were informed that there were werewolves in the Forks area that were killing vampires with no provocation and no warning. This I find, I don't believe to be true, unless some of your wolves have gone rogue." I was immediately interrupted by a lot of growls and had to hold up my hand at them, "Alpha, I ask this, not to disrespect you, but to gain the information needed. If you give me your word as alpha, I will accept it as fact. Have any of your wolves gone rogue, or have they been hunting down vampires outside your unmarked lands?"

"No. No wolf in this pack is doing any hunting. We are only protecting. We will give persecute beyond our land to ensure they have left the area, but have not killed a vampire beyond our borders. Any tribe member that has phased is part of my pack and is not rogue, nor have we come across any foreign shifter scents. This I give you my word as Alpha."

I nodded in acceptance, "I request permission that one of us of your choosing to be allowed to check the way you have marked your lands. Again, this is not a way of criticizing your abilities, but rather a standard procedure for us. In the missive I sent your elders I included contact information for other shifter tribes I have encountered in the past. I am willing to postpone the check until you have had time to contact their Alpha to verify what is it that I want to do. There has been a few cases in the past where the markings were relatively faint and the problem was easily rectified by the shifter marking their borders more regularly and more thoroughly; this also cut down on their run-ins with vampires on their lands. I find it difficult to believe this is the case, but I am sure you can understand the reason we wish to verify it for ourselves."

"I have spoken with the other alphas already, and was made aware of this. I will give my permission. Before we work out any details is there anything else you wish to discuss?" He questioned, "You mentioned our legends earlier..."

"Yes, there are a few things I wish to speak with you and your elders about, but I wanted to come to an understanding on the main issue first. As this involves the elders too, and they are not blessed with our hearing, do you have an issue of the rest of the meeting happening in closer proximity so they do not need to wait for one of the wolves to repeat everything for them? If this is agreeable, I propose that it is you that moves forward at human pace, so that you may decide on a distance that is conductive of continuing this meeting, and also tolerable to your instincts."

I watched the alpha think about it for a moment, and discuss it with the elders. They then moved close enough for human hearing, but still leaving a considerable amount of room. One of the elders was looking at me with shrewd eyes and what may be recognition. My next words drew gasps from all the wolves and elders, except the one that watched me keenly. He didn't gasp.

No, he smirked.

"Are the legends of the Great War still told?"


	8. All is not lost

AN: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my beta's for all their hard work and help to take this story from 'meh' to 'WOW'. Their help has been brilliant, whether it be with my grammar, criticism or expanding descriptions and dialogue brilliant beta's are:  
>A Little Birdie Tells Me<br>fri13girl  
>The Quote Queen<br>RKD-CULLEN  
>LadyGrimR<br>All these beta's bring their own flavor to help enhance my story to what you are reading here.  
>Now that I have given credit where credit is due, on with the chapter.<p>

"Are the legends of the Great War still told?"

"There would be only one way for you to know of that legend. It is only told to pack and elders; no other tribe member has ever heard it. If you truly know it you can only be the human warrior that became a pack member. But you are a pale face, how did you become pack?" One of the other elders asked, his voice shaking considerably.

The smirking elder turned to him, and replied simply, "Why not ask her to tell us her story? She may also be able to clear up a few things while she is at it. She is obviously the one spoken of in the prophecy. Vampire, will you tell us your story and how you know of the Great War of our people?"

It was time to tell that part of my life. The tribe merited the right to hear it. The prophecy thing was a little disconcerting; but I decided that I would ask about it later. This would be the second time I have spoken of this time, and never in as much detail. Caius and Marcus were the only ones I have told before, but it was more of an overview. It is just as well I trust my team to uphold a certain amount of confidentiality.

"My involvement in your tribe goes back to before I was even born. My father was best friends with the chief and two of your elders. He even married into the tribe when I was around nineteen. I became close friends with the chief's son, Jacob. We used to make mud pies when I would visit him on the Res. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was forced to leave Washington with my mother. While with her, I learned to fight. I had an aptitude for fighting from a young age. Within five years, I had mastered five different martial arts styles and soon after started competing in underground fighting. I moved back to Forks when I was seventeen. Jacob and I were still friends, though not as close as we were as children. We had drifted apart due to distance. When I moved back, we had hoped to become close again. He was always like a little brother to me. Jacob hadn't phased yet, and wouldn't for another eight months.

"It was not to be at that time. Vampires prevented this. I started at the Forks high school the following Monday, and that was when I had my first encounter with the supernatural. The Cullens. I had attracted the attention of one of them; well, my blood attracted the attention really. Edward, his name was, found my blood to call to him. Edward was also telepathic and could read any mind within his range; all were open to his invasion. All, except for mine.

"We shared a class and I was forced to sit next to him. This was the start of a downward spiral that I had no control over. This was the first time he dazzled me. I started having foreign thoughts and feelings, for example what Edward thought of me should matter, or the fact that Edward seamed to dislike me was a terrible thing. I knew it wasn't like me; I had never been self-conscious and never felt the need to be liked by anyone before. It was as if a war was going on within me, and the real me was being suppressed by every passing moment. This feeling started to become more intense as time passed. Edward left for a few weeks and in that time, and every time, that I was within close proximity to his 'sister' Alice, I felt less and less in control of my actions. My memories that did not involve the supernatural at that time are somewhat fuzzy. I believe the constant dazzling that I was under was the cause. When Edward returned, he gave the appearance of wanting to get to know me and inquired a lot about my past and family.

"I was still in control enough to censor how much information I divulged. Life has taught me to be wary of trusting anyone so I was able to fight the urge to tell him everything. I wasn't able to outright lie but I was able to control how much truth I revealed. I gave him the very much edited cliff notes and completely omitted any information about my fighting ability and my knowledge of how to completely disappear if the need ever arose.

"Time passed in a similar fashion and due to the constant and repeated dazzling, I lost an increasing amount of free will. I was finding my true self pushed progressively further back, but was constantly fighting within myself to break free. This internal struggle caused me to become extremely clumsy. It was like two different people trying to control the same body. The clumsiness didn't seem to out-of-place as it was common for me to have injuries from fighting that I passed off as tripping or walking into a door. I swear my excuses sounded like an abused wife.

"Before the dazzling became too strong, I was able to convince Jacob to reveal the legends of the 'cold ones' to me. This information helped me discover the true nature of the Cullens. It was after Edward 'saved me' from being hit by a van, stopping it using supernatural strength and speed, and again 'saved me' from being gang raped in PA, that he admitted that he and his family were vampires. Mind you, I would not have needed saving if I wasn't under his and Alice's constant thrall.

"There were times where I would gain footing in this internal war. If Rosalie was icy to me I would gain an inch, if what the demented duo wanted me to do contradicted Charlie's requests I'd gain a mile and if Billy the chief of that time tried to warn me I would almost break free. Of course any victory I had, was met with them upping the dazzling. Edward took it as far as sneaking into my room when I was asleep to reinforce his work. The rest of the Cullens were completely oblivious of what was happening right under their noses.

"Three human-drinking nomads came across the Cullens one day. I was forced to lie to my father and leave the area with Alice and her pet husband, Jasper. One of the nomads wanted to steal me for himself. The nomad, James, contacted me while we were on the run, stating he had my mother. I was able to break the thrall enough to escape them and meet James. I was tricked, but the thrall still had a hold over me so I was unable to devise an escape.

"I was gravely injured from the encounter, and James was able to bite me before the Cullens destroyed him. Edward sucked the venom out to prevent the change, almost costing me my life. If Dr. Cullen was not there I would not have survived at all. I was the only one to notice that Edward and Alice were more worried about preventing me being turned than saving my life, or eliminating the threat.

"It was not long after that I found myself asking to be changed. I gave the reason of wanting to be with Edward for eternity, but really only wanted it so I would not be their puppet any longer. The events with the nomads helped me realize that what I was feeling was their thrall, and I needed to find a way to be free of it. I didn't feel confident running away would free me, otherwise, I would have been gone as soon as I was able.

"Over the next few months, Edward and Alice noticed that their dazzling was having less and less effect on me. After an incident on my 18th birthday, Edward left me in the woods and the thrall was ripped from me. I collapsed in a heap and was unable to get up. I was found by the Alpha of that time and brought home to my father. The proximity to Sam helped with some of the initial side effects.

"I was able to recommence my strained relationship with Jacob, and found myself on the Res more often. It was easier to cope with the debilitating side effects of the thrall being so violently withdrawn. It was later theorized that it was the proximity to the wolves that helped reduce them, rather than Jacob or the Res itself, and I tend to agree.

"My proximity to Jacob also activated his gene and he phased in front of me soon after. I was quickly let in on the secret. Paul was furious that a 'Leech-lover' knew, but soon accepted it after I informed them all, of the dazzling subjugation that I had been under, and my lack of choice in the matter.

"Paul was the one to help me start training again and we bonded over a mutual love of martial arts. It took some time to eliminate the slavery induced clumsiness, but we got there eventually. The rest of the pack started helping me train as well and I became stronger and faster than ever. I'm not saying I was super strong, but more like the ultimate human, far surpassing the average human.

"I think we should leave it there for tonight," I muttered, "and reconvene here in the morning around ten, if you wish for me to finish the story. You all look like you could use some food and a good night's sleep." They hurriedly agreed and made their way home.

Before he left, the smirking elder approached me, "I am known as Old Quill after my fore-father, and am the current pack's Sharman and medicine man. There will come a time, soon, where you will need me. Don't let fear keep you from becoming who you were meant to be. Don't let the past hold you back from letting anyone in now. You have heavy burdens on your narrow shoulders, never forget that you have people around you, willing and able to assist in alleviating that load, if you will but only permit it. Allowing yourself to form bonds again will not necessarily mean letting history repeat itself; and the right bonds may very well just set you free of the chains of your past that hold you back from being all you can be."

Old Quill turned away at that, and sauntered away. He paused minutely after a few steps, just before he disappeared completely to impart one last piece of wisdom.

"All is not lost yet, and what is lost, can always be found again."


	9. Lurant returns

AN:id like to thank my beta's for making this story all it can be

"All is not lost and what is lost can always be found again."

Well, okay then. I wonder what he means by that bit of profound wisdom. I'm too drained to give it much thought at the moment, but they are words that I know would hit me when I least expect it, and they will give me one of those 'aha' moments. That, or, they will just turn around and bite me in the ass at the most inopportune moment.

The boys and I went home to have some down time. I think the boys are playing video games while I decided to meditate like Gramps taught me, when I just needed time to recharge or process the day's events. This was also a good technique for blocking out pain, when I was in Vicky's tender care. I close my eyes and just drift away.

We arrive at the field right on the dot of ten, to see the pack and elders set up for a long day by the looks. There were coolers of what I assume is food and drinks as well as camping chairs for the elders. Two wolves are phased again, but are laying down, and the rest of the pack are lounging around the field. Opposite the elders are five empty camping chairs, presumably for us. I am proven right when the Alpha gestures for us to take a seat.

"You may begin when you are ready, Isabella." Old Quil speaks and gives a respectful nod to me.

I settle into the seat and begin."Okay, I'll assume you all remember where I left off last night, so I'll just carry on. I started attending pack training, and saw that a lot of the guys would lose claws and the occasional tooth. I started collecting these at the end of training. I approached, and became close with some older members of the tribe in the know and they were able to teach me the art of weapon making the same way their ancestors used to.

"We were able to fashion arrows with claw heads and wolf tooth blades. After a bit of experimenting on vampires, before they were killed, we were also able to establish that wolf saliva had a similar effect on vampires that venom had on the wolves, so with a little ingenuity, we were able to come up with saliva filled blow darts, which we were later able to update to fit into dart guns. We also soaked the arrow shafts, which then became stronger and also more painful.

"They also taught me to use a bow and arrow, and some basic blade work, which evolved into my second passion for weapons. I found a timeworn and greying weapons master and was soon his apprentice. I would train with him daily for a few hours; with my aptitude for all fighting styles I advanced quickly. I found an appreciation for blades I never had before, and just fell in love with sais.

"We grew close and I started calling him Grandpa, or Gramps, if I was feeling cheeky. He would call me Daughter or 'little shit' if I pissed him off; Gramps knew I was involved with the supernatural, just not what flavor. He never asked any awkward questions, and even helped me forge a set sais out of wolf teeth, no questions asked. He was on his death bed when he called for me for the last time. As I approached him he pulled out a long carved box from somewhere and handed it to me. The carvings reminded me of the stories he told me of his ancestors.

"'Daughter you have given me what I never dreamed I would have. As the last of my line, with no descendants of my own, I feared my family's teachings would be lost for all time, but you have given me hope that this knowledge will last an eternity. In that box is the sword of our line; it is said that it can slay any enemy, and I believe that it is strong enough to help slay yours. Let the power of my line protect you for as long as you walk this earth.I have added an inscription to it.' I asked what the inscription said. ' it says daughter 'I forevermore belong to a warrior in which the old ways join the new' With that he took his last breath and passed from this life to the next.' With that he took his last breath and passed from this life to the next.

"The box held a katana that felt like it just vibrated with strength. Gramps was right, and it did protect me. His words were a omen of what was to come, but even he couldn't have been able to foresee everything that happened. This, my sais, and blades are the human possesions I miss most.

At the last comment Old Quill stood, and called one of the wolves over to pick up a crate. "As I said yesterday, what is lost can be found again. When you were taken, as I'm sure you will get to, the elders and pack of your time, took your most prized weapons and put them in this crate, and hid it on Elder Island. The only ones told of its location were the elders. There were other items included there as well, but these were the ones we were told to return to their rightful owner no matter the circumstances. The other items we can discuss later."

The wolf brought the crate to me, then returned to where he was laying on the grass before. I opened the crate to find my most valued weapons all stored with care, and apart from some dust, looked in prestigious condition. I thanked Old Quill and continued the story.

"That Christmas the tribesmen that helped me with the weapons and I presented each pack member with their own set. To say they were surprised would be an understatement. These weapons would become instrumental to us winning the great war. I was astounded when Billy presented me with holsters for my sai's and blades, and a harness so I could wear my katana along my spine, all hand made by the elders and blessed by the sharman. I was also officially made the first human pack member.

"Of course, anything that made me happy must come to an abrupt and explosive end, right?" Isabella looks around the circle to make sure that everyone is following along. She nods in slight approval and allows herself to sink down into her memories again.

"I was meditating in a meadow not far from my house when one of the three nomads from the baseball game, Laurent, appeared. He spoke to me about Vicki's plans for me, and how he was just on a fact finding mission, but was hungry and was just going to feed on me instead.

"Luck was with me as Paul was on the way to find me and picked up Laurent's scent; he called in the pack. Laurent had just bitten me when the pack arrived to give chase. I was dropped as he took off to try and save himself. The effort was in vain, and he was soon reduced to ashes. Paul didn't join the pursuit. He stayed to check on me and was able to remove the venom, remembering the time I told them Edward did the same. Paul had risked his life to save mine.

"It was just before my 20th birthday that we found out why we were so close. Turns out Sam's words when I was five were not unfounded. Reneé was sleeping with quite a few men from the tribe, as well as Forks including Sam and Paul's fathers.

" This was why Charlie never fought for me. Apparently Renee's last words to Charlie before she left where 'It's not like she's yours! You try and fight me and I'll make sure you never see her again.' Charlie loved me too much to risk never being part of my life. So he did the best he could with the crumbs Renee gave him. Just to abate our own curiosity Sam, Paul, and I got our DNA tested.

"Turns out I was Paul's half sister."


	10. if you go into the woods today

"...Turns out I was Paul's half sister."

Once again, I'm pulled back with my memories; having to relive it all.

_I was surprised at how well Charlie took the news. It didn't come to much a surprise to him as I'd thought that it would. As it turns out, Charlie had been told about the pack when he married Sue. Harry had passed on a few years back from a bad heart. Charlie had noticed how Paul and I were together; that lead to Charlie having confirmation that he wasn't my biological father._

_I loved him still, of course, genetics be damned. All it changed was that Paul and I knew why we bonded so closely, so quickly._

_As a bonding activity, I told dad all about the weapons I was developing with the tribesmen, and asked if he had any idea of how to modernize them. He looked them over and came back with the suggestion of upgrading from the bow and arrow to the cross bow with the cartridges, so you didn't have to load the arrows one at a time. They would also cut down the time needed between shots._

_He also said that, with a little tinkering, and changes to size, the blow darts would work as a dart gun. You could even get them with magazines that, again, would cut down on reload time._

"_..._ Charlie then took this idea and ran with it."

I was pulled from my thoughts by a few chuckles from a few of the Pack. "Yeah he was called the Pack's mad scientist behind his back. They thought I was scary sometimes but I had nothing on him" I told them smirking. He really did scared me sometimes with the things that he would come up with._  
><em>  
>"Charlie took me to the shooting range and helped me master any gun that would hold the hollow claw tipped saliva darts. I dubbed them the 'Vamp-Specials'. If any of the wolves pissed off Sam or Billy, they were volunteered to be used as targets when I wanted to do some live target practice at the supernatural level. I only used standard empty darts, but getting hit with one of them still, wasn't a matter of tickle." I barely held in my chuckle at the winch from all the wolves. The elders didn't even try to hide theirs.<p>

When they had all settled down, I faded back in time.  
><em><br>It was during one of these training sessions that my skills were put to the ultimate test._

_Even though I used standard empties to practice with, dad convinced me to keep a clip of Vamp-Specials on me as well. And I had never been so grateful that I took his advice, as I was right then. His paranoia saved our lives that day. The wolves with me were Collin and Brady. The twins had only phased the night before, and since they couldn't phase back yet, were volunteered to be my moving targets. They were having such a blast trying to unsuccessfully dodge my shots, that they missed the scent of the vampire a few hundred yards away._

_The fates must have been smiling on me that day. I just happened to be practicing my long range shooting, and he must have been a young or inexperienced one. He never spotted me in the tree I was using for cover._

_I was lucky that I even saw him; it was a coincidence that he passed through a shaft of sunlight that lit him up like homing beacon, or he would have escaped my notice as well. I had silently changed out my clips, and lined up my shot. I squeezed down on the trigger and held back my breath. Once I was sure of my shot, I took three in quick succession. It was a textbook coup de grâce, and he never saw it coming; the vampire fell to the ground writhing in pain._

_I called out to the twins to get the pack here ASAFP. I instructed them to use their paws and body weight to hold him down, but to be ready to get the fuck out of the way, if they thought he would get free. They held him down, while we waited. I told them that if he was to get free, I'd jump on the closest wolf's back, and we were to get the fuck out of dodge. They were told to avoid his limbs and teeth like they did my darts, but to remember if he got his teeth into them, they would feel like they were being filled with the fiery pits of hell. And if he got his arms around them, it was just as well as over; he would break every bone in their body. That helped them take the proper caution, and to not do anything stupid._

_The rest of the pack showed up a few minutes later, and Paul and Jared took over restraining the vampire. The Vamp-Specials had worked better that expected; they weakened him enough so that he could be restrained, while the wolves were still in human form._

_I told the pack to question him by any means necessary, before they killed him, and then handed my blades to Jacob. He was watching the boys closely, but he wasn't hunting; he looked more like he was scouting._

_After Laurent's recent visit, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to gain much needed Intel. Four new wolves phased for a reason, and this vampire obviously had been scouting; he might just hold the answers we needed. I looked at Paul and knew he would make sure he sung like a canary before being turned to ashes._

_Sam sent me and the twins back to his house to meet up with Seth and Leah, not that I blamed him; I would have done the same thing in his place. That's why I just handed over my blades, told them what needed to be done, and left when asked._

"... Who would want a human and two newbies lingering around an unfamiliar vampire, when he was being brutally interrogated, before given the mercy of death"

I probably would have argued if Paul wasn't there. The others tended to get a little squeamish around shit like that; but Paul and I understood the necessity of it. This vampire was by no means a pure soul. It wasn't even his diet that polluted his soul, though it didn't help, but he had been the type to play with his food just for the sheer satisfaction of it.

When we got to Sam's, I was able to get the twins to phase back; it wasn't hard. They were thirteen, and Sam was trying to get them to find their happy place. Screw the happy place, I had told them that if they didn't phase back, they couldn't play the Xbox. Neither could they have any of the brownies I planned to make, nor even lick the empty bowls. I left some cut-offs, and walked into the kitchen to work on the brownies.

As soon as the smell of brownies filled the kitchen, I had a human Collin and Brady standing in the doorway, holding their hands out for the mixing bowl. Junk food and video games; the key to any thirteen year olds' heart.

"A few hours later, the pack returned with solemn and enraged faces. They also seemed to carry an air of defeat."

I guessed "vampire boy had talked".


	11. the 'war wolf'

_AN: I am so sorry to those who have already read this chapter I don't know what went wrong with the posting and a big thanks to the reviewers that mentioned it so it could be fixed_

_It was confirmed._

Victoria had created a newborn army. she had twenty uncontrolled newborns in a secluded warehouse in Port Angeles and another fifteen in transition due to wake within the next twenty-four hours. We were ten wolves strong, even if we included myself, it would be a slaughter in a straight up battle.

_The pack looked defeated, but Paul and I just looked at each other and he nodded to me; looked like I would be commanding the meeting for that time being._

_"What kills a vampire?" I remember asking them, much to their start. They had looked bewildered by the tone of my voice, and even more at the look that I wore. But we had no time to pussyfoot around. We needed a plan yesterday._

"Rip them apart and burn the pieces," Sam deadpanned like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and it certainly was, to an extent. He wasn't thinking outside the box.

"Correction," I had said simply, "Venom needs to be exposed to an open flame. That is all."

_I then enlightened them. Ripping vampires apart has been the only effective way to do so in the past. We all knew then that a vampire could close his eyes and mouth and stop breathing and all an open flame will do is give them the warm fuzzies. Up until then, you would have to be up close and personal to be able to wound them and at that range you need to completely incapacitate them before it was safe to flame them down._

_"...I know the weapons are new to you all but as you saw with that scout, they are unheard of to them," I had encouraged them, "You know how I pissed you all off by making you all learn how to use a longbow and the cross bows? There was a reason for that..."_

_They had all seen how well the darts worked, and with its claw pieces, they were not much thicker than a needle, yet were enough to expose a small amount of venom._

_"How big do you think a wound would be if it was caused by an arrow-head?" I had asked them, watching their eyes go to the size of saucers._

_The wound itself would not be enough to take them out, but the shock of being wounded by a weapon would cause them to freeze up._

_"Set the arrow on fire first," I directed them, "And there will be enough venom exposed to turn them to ash from a nice safe distance."_

_The small wound would take time to incinerate them. As we knew most of them were newborns, and by the time the shock wears off they will panic, exposing any venom in close proximity to them to an open flame. Crossbows were faster, yes, but you can't light them up like the arrows and longbows, which can take flaming arrows._

_"Wound several in a group and light one up, they all go up. And we can take out a good portion of the army before they even smell us coming," I had flashed them a ghost of a smile._

_"Charlie," Sam, who was in contact with my father, added, "also has been working on shrapnel grenades filled with all the claw splinters left from carving the arrow heads and dart tips. A few well placed grenades will equal to a lot of exposed venom and I know a few of you have a good arm. Brady, Seth and Colin are the best. It's a way they can help while staying out of the front line."_

_I had accepted it, because it had sounded like a good plan. I had added hopefully, "And I'm going to need a wolf or two with me just in case too many get too close to me. I could handle one or two the shock value will give me all the opening I need, but more than that and it gets a little hairy. I'd rather have some furry back up."_

_When they had gone quiet, it hadn't taken me much time to catch on to the meaning of their silence. I had barked, my nose flaring, "Don't even think of it," I breathed out, "You are not going to leave me back at home. I won't let you. Besides," I told them with a little triumph, "Leah and I are the only ones good enough on the long bow to do what we need. But if it makes you feel any better," I had shrugged, "I can strap a saddle to one of your big fluffy backs and you can be my fearless steed."_

_Paul played my steed when I trained in horseback fighting style. I even had the protective gear for the 'horse' so I don't accidentally hurt them with my katana. And a 'horse' that can protect itself, well, what more could you want in a loyal steed? I was also almost as good with the long bow on 'horseback._

"Sam, I have given you the tools to win this battle. Do you reckon you could pull your head out of your defeated ass and put together a workable plan?"

_They all had just looked at me, slacked jawed and bug-eyed. I'd have to admit that I could come up with what could work in a given situation by thinking outside the box; it's rather talent of mine, however, tactical plans and strategies had always been beyond me._

"Pick your jaws up, and put your eyes back in your head. We're burning daylight people." I had found myself saying rather harshly.

_It was Jared who came out of this shock first, "Damn, Bella. Were you planning to take over the world or some shit? You have an arsenal that works on leeches. Fuck, I bet you even have shit for your own war wolf. Who do you think you are? Xena? Fuck, you are one scary human."_

_What could I say; it was what it was._

"Blame Charlie for the arsenal, anything beyond what I came up with in your Christmas kits, are his babies and his inner boy scout means we have enough to take out this army and then some. It was a good bonding experience for us. The war 'horse' deal you can blame Gramps for, and yes I do have gear for a war wolf. He taught me how to fight on horseback in the human world and you all know I have to try to adapt everything I know to a supernatural level as best I can." I had shrugged as if to say what else did they expect from me.

"Between you, Charlie and Paul, I swear you could take over the world if you put your minds to it. The thing that scares the shit out of me is not that you could do it, but the fact that you could do it before anyone knew what the fuck was going on," Sam said shaking his head and shuddering minutely at the thought, "Okay, that's enough. You take your evil genius ass over to your dad's and I'll leave you two warlords to organize the weapons. While Leah, the guys and I come up with a workable plan, I want you to have all the gear ready for everyone within three hours. As soon as the gear is set, and we know what everything is, we will head out. Can you do that?"

"Sure we could be ready in a little over an hour, two at most" I had said grinning at him.

_Charlie was scared shitless of vampires, so to assuage his fears, he was always ready for a Vampire World War III and had all the weapons set up almost all the time, in case of some vampire disaster, everyone including humans could be suited up as quickly as possible._

_The new toys really had been his idea; I was just there to tell him if it might work or not. Some went beyond the pale. He even went as far as trying to come up with vampire proof restraints and torture devices for when we had any VPOW's; Vampire Prisoners of War._

_'And Sam called me the evil genius,' I had rolled my eyes, 'If Charlie ever got hold of a way to restrain vampires, I'm moving to an island in the middle of bum fuck nowhere.'_

"You have three hours to prepare. Now fuck off and go see that damn mad scientist you call a father, and do what you need to do. I'll work you into the plan in a manner that should satisfy you, but also, hopefully," he emphasized the word, eyeing her solemnly, "keep you alive. Because, frankly, while I'm too scared not to involve you, I'm beyond petrified of what Charlie would do to me with all those new weapons he comes up with every other day, if I got you killed."

_I sighed and thought it was high time to leave, so that he and the rest of the pack could get their shit together enough to put a workable plan together in time. I got in my truck and made my way to our old house and rang Charlie en route. He met me there and I told him what we were dealing with, and we went down to the basement to get all the toys we needed._

Looking around, I thought that Sam had been right. If we ever wanted to, we could certainly take over the world. It was a good thing that we only aimed to protect ourselves from any enemy that may come our way.

_We were back at Sam's within the hour and started making up kits. I even had my 'war horse' gear ready to go. When we were done, I geared up and took the time to add all my extras. I was playing around with adjustments, when the pack came sauntering in the backyard, towards me._

_It was Jared who had to open his mouth first, "Fuck me, its Xena and Rambo's love child."_


	12. Time with Vicky

AN: Sorry to those that had difficulties reading the last chapter. There seemed to have been an issue when I posted it. This has been fixed. Thank you to those reviewers that brought it to my attention. I also wish to apologise for not posting this chap yesterday but RL got in the way and as always thanks to my Beta's. The story would not be this good without you.

"Fuck me, its Xena and Rambo's love child."

After that lovely comment, a lot more were thrown around until Charlie weighed in on the remarks with one of his own, "Now, remember boys, this isn't all I've got; just what you need, and can carry. I've a few things back at home that I want to test. But haven't been able to yet since it's too dangerous and I haven't had a volunteer yet. You keep this up and I might just not care if you're a volunteer or not."

That made everyone shut up.

Charlie glared all around, and then said, "Now, listen up because you're going to want to know this shit..."

Charlie proceeded to go over all the new weapons, as I started helping them suit up. Seth was to be my fearless steed, and Collin and Brady my guard dogs; it was decided that the twins had the best arm of the three. Seth was last to be ready, but that was because he had to phase first and would lose the ability to communicate effectively.

As I was gearing up Seth, I went over the weapons again with my team, especially the grenades. The twins were the only ones to have them. I had also told Seth that if I had to dismount for any reason, to stay near me. And if I whistled, it meant I wanted something he was carrying. I told all three of them that two whistles meant get the pack to us without any delay. We all agreed that whistling would be the easiest to recognizable way to communicate in the heat of battle, especially with the supernatural hearing that the wolves were blessed with.

Sam had us set up at the main entrance, but further back from the front line. The scout really did sing for them, and we had Intel on the layout of the warehouse. That made it easier for Sam to plan.

Leah and her group were stationed at the back entrance. The newborns in transition would be awake by the time we got there, so every wolf, bar my group and Leah, were armed with crossbows. Leah and I had the long bows and a torch to put in the ground so that it would be easier to light the arrows. The basic plan was to wound and light up as many as we can, as quickly as we can, then pick off what would be left.

When we got there, it looked like the count was down by a far bit; we put it down to infighting. It was almost a detrimental mistake. The plan went off without a hitch in the beginning, but then our assumption came back to bite us in the ass. The missing newborns were not dead, they were out feeding, and returned during our attack.

Most of the wolves had been busy picking off survivors, leaving my group to take on the five missing newborns. I was able to get Seth to rush over to them, and took two heads off with my katana before they could react. We had the last three surrounded. The twins phased, and took on one, Seth another, leaving the last to me.

It was a hard fight, the element of surprise lost. My Sais only gave him shallow cuts; he was too fast to get a solid blow. The small wounds slowed him down enough to give me a fighting chance, but I couldn't find the opening. Besides, I was tiring quickly, and saw the others were not faring much better. I no longer thought that those three were newborns. I gave two short whistles, we needed help. _Fast._

Paul and Jared were there in seconds, taking out the boys' opponents, thus providing the distraction to gain the opening I had needed. The vampire turned his head to see his comrade fall, and my sword was swift to take his head. As soon as it was all over, the adrenaline left my body, and I collapsed in a heap to the ground.

I was suddenly aware of all my injuries. That bastard was playing with me, I just knew he was. The fucker's blows were hard enough to really bloody hurt, but just shy of incapacitating. They definitely hadn't been newborns. I was too injured to ride Seth back alone, I think he broke one of my wrists, so Paul hopped on too, and steadied me till we got back.

Our destination was the Clearwater's house; we needed Sue to doctor our war wounds. I was treated first as the pack had no bones that needed resetting. Sue's reasoning was, "You don't have their healing."

Couldn't argue with that; so I ended up with a few fractured bones, some busted ribs and a little internal bleeding. Sue really wanted me to go to hospital for the internal bleeding, but at my refusal, settled for her being able to watch me like a hawk.

I was to remain in her care and stay on bed rest until she was satisfied that I was healed. It wasn't too hard to do that; I lived with her anyway. The whole personal hygiene thing was going to be taken care of by Leah.

After the war wounds were healed, or mostly healed in my case, there was a bonfire to celebrate the victory.

Charlie was made an official honorary tribe member for his work on the arsenal, though that wasn't the publicly recognized reason. We moved the arsenal to a secure location on the Res, and it even had a lab set up for Charlie. As per his request, a few limbs and torsos were saved from the war for Charlie to run experiments on.

He was warned about the venom, and wore acid proof gloves when handling any vampire parts. He started buying the gloves, and other acid proof protective gear, in bulk from a wholesaler, when he found that after twenty-four hours the venom ate through them. The look on his face was priceless when he left them on the bench after using them only to come back the next day to find them half gone.

We sold the Forks house and moved permanently onto the Res.

A few weeks after my 21st birthday, I was ducking out to Newtons' to pick up a new polishing stone for my katana, and had subsequently left all my weapons at Sam's place where I had been in the process of cleaning them. It was then that Victoria found the perfect opportunity to kidnap me.

She couldn't have picked a more fortuitous moment to do so. It was the first time since Laurent's visit that I had not been armed in some fashion; Charlie would have killed me himself, if he could for that oversight. I was alone, and unarmed, it was the perfect moment.

No one had seen or heard from Victoria in quite a while after the war, so we had assumed that she had gone up in the first rush of the flames. It was an assumption that proved to be fatal, not only for me, but for many innocent people.

Victoria was cunning when it came to choosing who to grab; to use for my psychological torture. Charlie was first; taking out the weapons man. Paul and Sam were next; eliminating the best strategist. She then went for the best fighters, followed by the rest of the pack, next was the imprints, and then Renée and Phil and so on, and so forth, until no one was left.

I was suddenly again back in the present, telling the story to the Quilletes, "...This continued until she had taken anyone she knew I ever cared about. Many of the tribesmen were spared because she wasn't aware of my bonds with them, or for whatever reason. I will spare you all the horror of what was actually done to them; suffice it to say it was beyond anything you could ever imagine."

I paused unceremoniously, and then continued, "It took her three years to get everyone, and every day I was in utter agony, physically, mentally and emotionally. One of her favored torture techniques was to bite me, and then remove the venom about ten minutes later. It started the process of turning me. What was only a process of three to seven days, took well over three years for me. 90% of the scars covering my body are from this particular brand of torture."

And then, one fateful day, during her 'visit' she had unbound me for whatever purpose she had in mind. She became distracted by something outside, and it gave me all the opening I needed, and dreamt of having every day for those three long years.

"...Before Victoria even knew it, her head was torn from her body, and in my hands."


	13. new allies and toys

AN: I must apologise for the huge gap in updating. It was not due to a lack of muse or me abandoning this story but more that RL got in the way and I had not had time to check the edited chaps when they came back from my beta's. I have at least 15 more chaps written already that I need to find time to edit, send to my beta's or review but I will upload them as soon as I finish the final edits so the updates wont be on a basis as they were before but I will endeavor to have them done more often. Thanks for those who have stuck with me and for all the awesome reviews I do love reading them and answering questions and it makes posting this story more rewarding. As always thanks to my awesome beta's that help make this story what it is.

"...Before Victoria even knew it, her head was torn apart from her body, and in my hands."

I stopped there, as that was the last of my involvement with La Push and the pack up until now. One of the elders asked if I would continue, and I told him that maybe some other time I may divulge the rest of my history but, for now, this was all.

The Quileutes all looked at me in awe, not the disgust that I had anticipated for being the root cause of the pack of my time's demise.

It was Old Quil that was able to explain the reaction somewhat, "Dear Isabella, the travesties you have suffered are astronomical, and I fear that more was to come for you. I see you are shocked with our reactions, and I think that stems from your belief that you were at fault for the pack's downfall. But you must know that this isn't how we view it! You were the biggest casualty of the war with the red-headed leech. Yes, you may have been the only combatant survivor, but you were the worst treated, and for the longest time. A weaker person may not have even survived the battle, and a weaker mind would have crumbled within the first month."

I still wasn't very convinced by it all, and he could tell. So he continued, "When you became part of the pack, your enemies became the pack enemies; your fight became their fight, your victory theirs, and your defeats became shared as well. We do not only take on your triumphs, but your difficulties too. It is not_ only_ what you can do for the pack, but what the pack can do for you as well. Understand now. You were a victim of the red-head, more so than the innocents that lost their lives to her. How can we blame the victim? And then there was the matter of the Old Quil of your time... It helped our people see you clearly. Before your Old Quil passed to the spirit world, he had foretold of a prophecy. A prophecy I believe," he paused, his eyes twinkling, "...is about you."

He recited, as if it was learnt by heart:

_"The human pack member that was essential_

_To win the Great War against the red enemy,_

_That brought great sorrow to our people,_

_This fearless warrior, tortured for other's choices,_

_Will one day return,_

_Changed under unusual circumstances._

_She will suffer immensely in both lives,_

_She will make allies of enemies,_

_And if she can open her heart once more,_

_She will bring peace back to our land_

_And to all who dwell in her domain."_

"So, you see how we, as a people, dare not blame the warrior who will ultimately be our savior. We discussed this among the elders before we returned here today, and have all agreed to allow you and your men to access to our lands as long as _no_ tribe member becomes your food. The Alpha has also agreed to become your ally. However, this extends to you and only you. Your masters will have no authority here, and any addition to your team must be inducted formally to be recognized by us."

I nodded, it wasn't anything I hadn't expected. If anything it was more than I thought possible. To be allowed on their land is a great honor, and I will treat it as such, as will my team if they know what is good for them.

Then Old Quil continued, "And now if you are willing, we would like to present your team with a set of weapons like the ones your pack had... The first armed pack's weapons are on display at Elder Island. We felt it a dishonor to the fallen warriors to redistribute them." He sighed and bowed his head.

I recognised this as a silent tribute to all the fallen warriors that gave up their lives to protect the tribe and humans as a whole. It is done by all elders when they talk of the fallen.

" Your father is honored there, as well as yourself, along with your stories." He tried to smile but it was more of a grimace.

'I'm sure he is caught between delight of having a first hand account, and sadness for what that account entailed' I thought to myself.

"Your father left behind a large arsenal, and the weapons are still used today. We only retire a wolf's weapons if they are lost in battle. A wolf that passes of old age, will pass theirs down before he or her joins their ancestors. Your father and the tribesmen that helped in the original crafting of them had also left all that was needed so they could be replicated. Only your Sai's and katana were never remade, as they were uniquely yours."

Well, they were being downright neighborly; how could I turn them down? The question of forging an alliance looked promising. I have funny feeling we only need to muddle through the details. I nod in assent to their request, and they look rather pleased with the turn of events, as if they had almost thought we would reject their amiability.

Old Quill gave me a rare smile and murmured, "Isabella, the rest of your story will be added to our legends as well as the rest, if you choose to impart that knowledge to us so that future packs will always know why you are honored by us..."

It was said so quietly that made it hard to understand even with my supernatural heightened hearing. But I didn't say anything, neither did I know what to say to it. So I called the next port instead, "I am aware that the Cullens reside here once again. I need to visit them and discuss some matters. Do you think that there is anything we need to know about their activities whilst they have been here?" I asked.

I was actually rather intrigued in what they could tell me.

"They are up to the same shit again. They have taken a human _pet_ again," spitting out the word pet to show his distaste. The Alpha paused, as if not certain how to phrase it, "Just like you before. Most of them won't even acknowledge her at all; only the copper head pretty boy and the midget fawn all over her."

I saw apology in his eyes when he implied I was a pet. I gave him a reassuring smile. I wasn't offended in the least. I know that that was all I was to dumb and dumber.

I snorted to myself, of course, it didn't surprise me in the slightest.

"...This girl is the talker too; Blake, here, was able to find out all about them just by believing her. The girl has a reputation of being off her rocker, so she won't be believed by anyone here but... Well, she didn't find out about the Cullens like you, they just flat-out told her. She obviously doesn't know about the pack yet, unless the Cullens broke the treaty." The alpha informed me,

The Alpha's disgust in what the Cullens were doing was obvious by his tone and body language. 'I really need to learn his name. Calling him Alpha is getting to be annoying' the erent thought fluttered through my head

'This does not bode well. Carlisle needs to learn to control his family or I _will_. Grr, so the Cullens have attracted the involvement of not only us for this indiscretion, but also the pack.' I think with aggravation. This human could mean the death of the whole coven if I can't work something out. Carlisle really should know better.

"If the treaty has indeed been broken, will you allow us to try to rectify the problem first? The issue of revealing the secret to just anyone needs to be addressed, and in dealing with that, you may find yourselves satisfied with the outcome enough so that the possible treaty breach may only need a warning."

Before I could say anything, the Alpha tried to cut me off but I continued anyway, ultimately answering his unasked question "Of course, naturally, if you are not happy with the outcome, you can then do as you please. I'm only suggesting this to prevent us getting in each other's way."

'Having both hit them without coordinating could be an absolute nightmare, and the guilty party may just skip off unpunished. It wouldn't be the first time others had to clean up their mess. It would be just like them to take off if they have any type of warning.' I internally seethed at the thought.

They all confirmed and ultimately agreed with me that both parties hitting the Cullens about similar issues would be counterproductive. Well, I guessed the confrontation could no longer be delayed. We said our goodbyes, and arranged a time to discuss further about the alliance and checking their borders.

As we returned to Seattle, the boys were contemplating all they had heard. Back at the house, I rang Caius and informed him of the developments thus far. He wasn't impressed by the Cullens at all, but was happy to leave it to me to deal with, as I saw fit. The alliance didn't shock him either; only the quickness in its formation.

And his response to the prophecy was, "I'll inform Marcus that we are getting a new sister in six months' time."

I hadn't decided yet, and I told him as much.

He only said dismissively, "Fate is a bitch you can't fight, Isabella. So work with her, you'll be happier for it."

His use of the word 'bitch' floored me, only garnering a laugh saying that since I didn't speak Italian, bitch was the closest translation he knew of in English.

Now, finally, it was time to pay the Cullens a visit.


	14. we meet again

AN:Dear readers The Fanatic Fanfics Multifandom Awards have nominated this story in the following categories:

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Voting page will open to voters on March 31st, 2014. They will take votes for two weeks before closing the page on April 14th, 2014.

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so please go vote for this story

as always thank you my lovely beta's for making this story all it can be

Now, finally, it was time to pay the Cullens a visit.

We discussed how to approach them for a few hours, until we came up with the most entertaining idea.

Demetri confirmed that they were all home, so we left and entered Forks in the late evening. We hid our smells, careful not to breathe, I shielded us all to hide our thoughts, our decisions, and our very presence, so that none of them, not even Alice could see us coming. There was a slight issue of Alice already having a premonition of their future going a little fuzzy, they wouldn't go blank until we decided exactly when we would approach. I remember what Alice had told me once about her ability; she couldn't see anything unless she is looking for it. And for all she knew, Isabella Swan has been dead for over two centuries. The midget, unknown to herself, made it all easier for me.

I had us all fully shielded, and we all wore hidden spy cams as per the pack's, Caius's and Marcus's request; they didn't want to miss out on the Cullens' reaction. Peter, Garrett and I waited within hearing distance awaiting our cues to enter. Demetri and Felix approached in formal Volturi robes with the new gear under them, knocking on the door.

We watched patiently, silently, as Esmé answered the door, and nearly died of shock. She immediately called out for the family. The guards were invited inside, and they immediately cut to the chase.

It was Demetri who was the spokesperson for the duo. "We as representatives of the Volturi, are here to ascertain the validity of the claim made against the Olympic Coven. It has been brought to our attention, that members of this coven have revealed the existence of vampires to humans, and leaving said humans alive and unchanged." His tone formal and superiority just oozed from his words.

They both took note of the Cullens faces as the charges were verbalised. The anger from Rosalie was palatable in the room, as was the fear directed at the two guards, and the disgust for Alice and Edward. Jasper was having a hard time under the onslaught of strong emotions in the room, but was able to find some relief by trying to focus on Demetri and Felix. For some unknown reason to Jasper, they didn't emit any emotions whatsoever.

"We have done no such thing. Our coven is above reproach. We do not even lower ourselves to feed on humans like heathen. How dare you come here and throw such ridiculous accusations at us; like we are pathetic commoners." Edward said with his usual pompous and arrogant attitude. I could see Alice nodding in agreement from my hiding spot.

Their stupidity astounds me. Felix has become a virtual ball of barley contained rage with a hair-trigger fuse. He was a few wrong words from exploding and I can see Rosalie was surprisingly not far behind him. Esmé and Carlisle look at Edward amazed at the outlandish shit that just spewed from his mouth.

The guards continue stating the accusations regarding the law being broken while Edward continues to pathetically deny it; this is Garrett's cue to make his début and he stalks into the house at a fast pace.

Entering with his usual cheekiness: "I was on my way to visit and saw the vultures in the area," Garrett told, "And decided to find out what they wanted with the good, law-abiding vampires like the Cullens. Hope I'm not too late," Garrett flashed that particular smile of his, that I knew for fact, made everyone itch to slap him on the face.

His entrance and comic relief was enough to allow Felix to regain his composure. It's a good thing Jasper can't feel his emotions now otherwise he would become suspicious of Felix's mood change. The relief on the Cullens faces was obvious. They seemed comforted by Garrett's appearance and unfazed demeanor. I think they were hoping he could help defuse the situation. Pity for them that he is on our side. Alice and Edward didn't appear to be as happy to see him. From what I have been told the twisted twins have a very deep seeded fear of Garret and Peter. They unsettle them apparently.

Demetri pretended to fill him in about what was going on, as Garrett nodded his head in the most convincing act that I'd witnessed in a while. Edward just began to deny the accusations, when he was once again interrupted by Peter.

Peter knocked on the door, which Rosalie answered this time. She looked like she couldn't get away fast enough. She opened the door to find Peter was, true to our idea, dressed in his waiter gear with his the silver tray. We were innovation enough to hide the smell of venom and Maria, by putting her head on top of a Greek salad with a yogurt dressing. Dairy, especially fermented dairy like yogurt, were very odorous to us, and not pleasant. No one would have any idea of what was coming.

Peter greeted Rosalie with a perky, "Special order for one Major Jasper Whitlock", leaving her staring at him mouth gaping like a fish.

Jasper was in front of him before he even finished speaking. The befuddled look on Jasper's face almost sent me out of the tree I was hiding in; I had put myself in a tree in the front garden so that I could just drop out of it and be where I wanted to be.

Jasper took the tray gingerly, before he lifted the lid, almost too slowly for being supernatural. He hadn't known what to expect, but as the lid came off, his jaw dropped.

And he just stared at it for the longest time, until he was broken from his stupor when Alice wanted to know what was going on. Jasper blinked as if trying to get a grasp on reality, but otherwise, ignored her.

He whipped around to Peter, and asked, "How did? ...Who was? What is? ... W-wow."

'I think that the Major is stunned stupid,' I couldn't help the smile that crept up to my lips.

"Well Major, you want to spit out a full question there?" Peter smarted.

It took a moment more for Jasper to get a hold of himself, then he finally asked, "Is this really all that's left of Maria? This is not some kind of a trick? She won't ever be coming after us; it's all over?"

Peter grinned widely, and nodded affirmatively, "Yes, Major. This is all that's left of her. And the one responsible for it, thought that you needed the closure of finishing her off yourself, or you could always mount the head on your wall if you want," he shuddered visibly, murmuring, "Wouldn't be the first time I've seen it."

I knew he was talking about Vicky's head mounted up in my wall. It had always freaked him out that I had it on my wall in my room. But I kept it as a reminder; that if I allow myself to lose my sense of morals, I will become no better than she was. And I will never allow that; I will not let her defeat me, _ever._ Her victims will not have died in vain, I had promised myself. Her head acts as insurance, so I never let anything corrupt me into the abyss of evil.

Alice was watching Jasper and Peter's interaction with stress evident on her face, rubbing her temples and mumbling about how she didn't see this, how she can't see anything anymore. Edward is by her side reading her mind and looking just as stressed. I heard him whisper to her about not being able to read them either. It's not surprising that the fools are useless without their gifts.

The next questions were mine to answer.

"Who did this? When did it happen?" Jasper's voice was a little caught, as he asked rather sharply, "And why?"

I dropped into the yard silently; from here I had a clear view of the front door and Jasper, who, in all his fascination with the head that he was presented with, hadn't noticed my entrance.

"I believe I can answer all that and more for you," I called out and watched all heads snap my way at the sound of my voice.

Everyone came rushing out to the porch, peering over at me and wondering, no doubt, if their eyes were alright. Even if they acknowledged the sight before them, no one spoke, but could only stare at me. I waited patiently.

Edward was the first one to exhale a quiet, "Bella."

'Just like he had been the first one to notice me all those years ago,' I thought viciously.

I began to step forward, my stride confident and firm, nowhere near the clumsy ones the Cullens associated me with.

I watched with a much waited for satisfaction, as Edward and Alice stood there, just as shocked as the rest of the family, but you didn't need to be an empath to feel their fear crackle in the air around them.

"Edward," my voice was smooth and velvety, and it didn't catch in my throat like he was used to from all the centuries back. I came to stand before them, "We meet again."

AN: ok now that chap is over its time to review and to go vote for this story. go on shoo go vote shoo.


	15. pets and guard dogs

AN:well would you look at that, another chapter and you only had to wait 6 days. I want to take this time to thank all the reviewers for all the awesome reviews. I have got a lot of questions lately so ill try to anser some now

*as far as the cullens punishment goes all I can say is the punishment will fit the crime

*none of the cullens get off scott free the all are punished just not in the same way

* Jasper id grateful to Bella for killing maria but is so overwhelmed and shell shocked that he just hasn't had time to process it

*Edward and Alice don't die (sorry for those hoping for that outcome but I belive that what does happen to them is worse)

*Carlisle's lack of leadership in the coven will be addressed

I hope that answered most of your questions if not ask them in a review and ill answer them here or in a PM

as always a big thanks to my beta's and DON'T FORGET TO VOTE

I came to stand before them, "We meet again."

Horrified recognition dawned in on the rest of the Cullens, faster than before.

But before any of them could react, I spoke again, "This is not a social visit."

I addressed Jasper, "We will make time soon, to answer all the questions you must have, but that time is not now." At his nod of understanding, I continued, addressing the whole family once again, "The reason we are all here is to address the breach of our laws. The Volturi are not impressed, that this has happened not just once, but twice, that we are aware of. Normally this would be met with instant death. You are all lucky that the brothers have assigned this case to me, so only those directly responsible will undergo punishment."

Edward had to open his mouth and put his foot in it, "You couldn't possibly have that type of power. And even if you did, we never broke the law once, let alone twice; you don't count as you found out on your own." The pompous ass had the audacity to say.

"Edward, you need to pull your head out of the pixie's ass and smell the roses, you both need to wake up to the realities of life and realise how low you really rank on the food chain, because not only do I have that power, but all your lives are balanced on a very precarious edge. And my decision alone will decide your fate in this matter. If you keep up this air of superiority that you have, you might just find out how far my authority extends."

He tried to look down at me, but his fear took away any effect I may have had.

"As far as the law goes, it doesn't matter how I found out, you still confirmed it and left me alive and huma-"

The idiot interrupted me, "But you're a vampire now, so it doesn't mat..." His words were cut off with Felix's hand around his throat, and Demetri had his hand behind his back a moment later, and was whispering in his ear, loud enough for all present to hear distinctively.

"You have no idea what that woman has had to endure, for the sake of your actions. For the last 350 years, she has served your family's punishment for breaking the law. She didn't want to do your time or Alice's for that mater, but she did it to protect the rest. If she wasn't who she is, you all would have had to spend 50 years in Aro's service, and believe me when I say that they would not have been easy or kind years. How would Esmé fair having to feed off humans, or even Carlisle? What would it have done to Rosalie to see children used as meals, or women raped before being eaten to satiate the carnal desires of those favored by Aro?

"And that is just a drop of water in an ocean, considering what they would have gone through, the pleasant stuff. Do you think they would have survived that for 50 years? Isabella went through all that, and much, much more, so none of you would have to suffer to a lesser degree and for a shorter period of time. And you think that the fact that she was changed meant that your actions had _no effect_. They were the catalysts for more than you could ever imagine. You will_** NEVER**_ speak down to, or against her again, or Felix and I will teach you proper respect for your superiors. You will find yourself getting a small taste of what she had to endure, and I'd be surprised if you could survive even a minute of it."

Felix seemed too enraged to speak at all. Demetri's impassioned speech touched me; he saw so much, I now knew why he and Felix were willing to risk their lives for me. I would do whatever was needed to keep them from Aro's clutches, even becoming Queen, a prospect which seemed more definitive by the hour.

Esmé and Rose were both dry sobbing in their mate's arms, while the men looked at me in awe and gratitude. Alice looked like she sucked on a lemon, while Edward had paled. I saw the questions burning in their eyes, but ignored it and pressed on.

Stories and things of that nature were for social visits, and were not to be discussed when there was official business to conduct. I nodded at Demetri in recognition of his words, and Felix for his reaction; I would speak with them again later in private. I motioned to them to keep Edward restrained. With a look, I gesture for Garrett and Peter to keep an eye on Alice.

"As I was saying, you left me alive and human making it against the law, as for the second breach, are you telling me that if I was to go find... Oh, what's her name again?" I paused dramatically, pretending to think; I had a long talk with Blake after the meeting with the pack, and had found a lot of intriguing information. The girl's name was just the tip of the iceberg.

'A little homework and I have all I need,' I thought to myself in silent triumph.

"Belinda Cygnet" Peter stage whispered to me doing his best to remain stoic.

"Right, right... If I were to question Belinda Cygnet, she would have no knowledge of vampires at all? That is hard to believe, since she has told others about us. You are lucky no humans believe her at the moment. A miracle in itself and rather surprising considering you are not very good at blending in. Due to being so well-informed, unfortunately for her I will have to contain her."

Peter had to say something about the girl's name, and I had been waiting for it. The same thought had crossed my mind when I had first heard of the girl's name, but deliberately kept it from all.

'At least he waited until I was done talking,' I thought, seeing that it had been quite a struggle for Peter to contain himself.

Peter started, "Belinda Cygnet? Honestly, you chose someone who could be nicknamed 'Bella', and with a last name which literally means 'baby swan'? Shit, you have a sick way of picking them! This is wrong in so many levels. After what you did to the first Bella Swan, killing the second now, would be a mercy."

'Oh, if he only _knew_ what I have planned,' the words were on the tip of my tongue.

As expected, Carlisle's compassion drove him to speak up, "I can't deny that it was my Childe who told Belinda of our world and its secrets. And I'm willing to take responsibility for her," He spared a slight glance down at Esmé in his arms, and then sighed minutely, "In spite of the fact that most of my family is not quite fond of Belinda, and have done what we could to avoid her, I must ask what you plan on doing to her. If she can no longer remain human, I request you to offer her a choice to change. I don't want to see her punished for my Childe's actions."

"Do not fret; she will not be killed, only contained. The manner in which this happens is dependent on her recovery. You may be needed to facilitate this, Carlisle."

He looked confused by my words, more so with the word 'recovery'. I explained further, "Belinda was not always 'crazy' like you see her as today. In fact,before her move to Forks she was quite intelligent, with a talent for diplomacy. She moved her after the traumatic death of her mother, and her 'malady' presented itself not long after. It was believed that PTSD was the cause of her disillusionment, and that may very well be the case. But if what I theorized is true, her mother's death had little to do with it."

I could see that it didn't make any sense to them, only Alice and Edward fidgeted a little. I didn't know how to soften the blow for the father who obviously cared for his children, even if two of them were monsters in every way I saw them. So I told him bluntly, sticking to the facts, and explaining it the best I could.

"Dr. Cullen, my clumsiness was not an inherent trait of mine; I was actually very agile, before I encountered Edward and Alice. My copious injuries were originally from underground fighting, something clumsiness is not indicative of. The cause was prolonged exposure to almost nonstop dazzling. The constant fight to control my own actions left little to concentrate on things like remaining upright let alone walking without tripping. If it is a similar case here, Belinda's options for containment are greatly improved and presents me with a uniqe opportunity. Prior to her 'ailment' she aspired to study and become a diplomat or ambassador. These are skills that I could use here in the States, and this would give her the ability to become what she has always aspired to be, just not in quite the way she expected."

The horror at what Alice and Edward had done to me, and almost certainly Belinda as well, showed, but was tempered down by the inner doctor within Carlisle. The thirst for new knowledge won out for the moment, and I knew I had Belinda's new physician. I will talk with John, (I had finally found out the Alpha's name) about having some wolves helping as well, a shifter will be needed in her recovery.

'I hope this works out,' I fond myself thinking, 'Her background shows that she would be perfect to be my ambassador for the shifter tribes around the states.'

The rest of the family had no inner doctor to quell their reactions, and it was Rose who launched herself at Alice, only to be dragged back by a reluctant Emmett. Jasper made no move to protect Alice from the attack, and this enraged her. Alice started berating and belittling Jasper. "Jasper what do you think you are doing? You should be _protecting_ me! You can't even do that simple task ! After all the hard work I put into making you who you are you should be worshiping the ground I walk on. You should be prostrating yourself below me if there's so much as a drop of mud before me! When I found you, you were _nothing. __**Nothing**_! Do you hear m-..." Her screeched words trail off as a vicious growl to builds in him. Before I stepped in, I silently told Peter and Garret to be ready to hold Jasper, until I could contain him if he lost it. I didn't want to do it if I wasn't forced to.

'There is too much to discover from Alice, for him to kill her yet.'

"Did you know that if you abuse a guard dog for too long; they will turn on you? It wasn't just humans you made pets of, was it, Alice? You knew retribution would come upon you one day, and who better to protect you than the Major of the southern wars. You knew just the right emotions to send him in that dinner, to give him hope when he needed it most. You knew you could control him, by using his past against him. The very reason you wanted him, helped you control him."

Alice just looked at me, her eyes gone wide, glazed and burning with an emotion that was too deep to fathom.

'Hatred,' I acknowledged the emotion at once; almost smirking to myself.

I pressed on, "You also knew that if he started to free himself and gain his confidence back, a blast of well-timed blood lust would have him slipping, and submissive again. You had Edward monitor his thoughts as well, in exchange, offering to have Jasper to protect him as well when the time came. In exchange you helped Edward with his human pets. When you saw me starting to free myself of your thrall, you both panicked. You couldn't risk the family finding out about you wicked ways..."

Both Edward and Alice looked ready to pounce on me, but it didn't bother me in the slightest. I had waited for this day for the last 350 years; nothing could stop me from telling the world of the truth, and take away my fulfillment of seeing those responsible, squirm. Namely, Edward and Alice.

"...You both feared that I would run to Jasper and tell him all, freeing him of your manipulations in the process. You thought I was dead when I disappeared from your visions, didn't you? Perhaps you thought that I jumped off a cliff?" I asked tauntingly, I may or may not have made a decision to do just that before heading to a pack meeting. My chin tilts up in clear defiance and strength while my voice is quietly chilling. I know I don't have to raise my voice to make people respect or fear me, "That's the limitation to Alice's visual prowess; she can't see the pack, and while I was a warden of the Quilletes, she couldn't see me. That led to you assuming that I was dead, and believed that you were safe from exposure."

Here I paused to let a smirk touch my lips, "But little did you know that I was stronger than I looked. It was the biggest mistake of both your lives," I was now addressing both the siblings, "to not have me killed in the forest that day. Instead, you tried to emotionally destroy me, and it was the decision to your ultimate detriment. In the beginning all you have wanted was to have me as you submissive, but soon it all began to backfire on you. In all your ignorance, you had forgotten to check into my background," I gave a dry laugh, "You both bit off more than you could chew with me, and now you are choking on it. Never knowing that I'd more to me than a dazzled girl, and would come to bite you in the ass. I couldn't lie under the thrall, but I could omit things." I just couldn't contain the smug smirk that forced its way onto my face.

I had to wrap my shield around Jasper to contain him, as he was about to pounce on Alice with a feral growl. Once the Major was secure, I motioned Peter and Garret to physically restrain Alice, lest she tried to make a run for it.

'Not that she'd be able to go far,' I snorted to myself, '350 years and karma still caught up to her. If she makes out of this alive, if I have the heart to spare her life, she should take a lesson out of this.'

"Major, I understand you want her head, and you will have your chance at her. But for the time being, it's important that she remains alive for a bit longer. If she has to die," I ran my tongue over my lips as I threw a glance over at Alice who looked outraged, before I brought my gaze back to meet the Major's, "the pleasure will be all yours." I promised him, my voice soft.

He held my gaze, and at length relaxed, nodding in agreement. It took him a few more moments to get himself together. But at last he stood up straight with his hands behind him, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Major, the shield I have on you does not impede the use of your gift," I told him with a wink.

At that, Alice dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. It continued for a while before the Major let up on her enough so that the screams died down in her throat. As I watched her still squirm in pain, something in me made turn to her face passionless, voice dangerously soft and ominous and ask, "Tell me, Alice, how does it feel to know that your former pet, the same pet who's life you did everything possible to possess completely,turned your guard dog against you?"

Of course, there was no reply.

"How does it feel to know that said pet, is the only thing holding your guard dog back from killing you, in what I belive to be the most imaginative and painful ways?"

'The term if looks could kill comes to mind'

"How does it feel to know that we now hold your very life in our hands?"


	16. bellas and swans and lies oh my

AN: another chapter so soo wow im on a roll as always i thank my beta's

"How does it feel to know that we now holds your very life in our hands?"

As the last of Alice's cries died out, the human of the hour arrived. The sound of a car in the distant caught all our attention effectively. Soon a car pulled over in front of the Cullen's house, and we all watched in silence as she dreamily hopped out of her car and approached.

If anything, her nonplussed attitude showed further credence to the thrall she was under.

"Hey, Alice. Edward," She looked around at all of us, "Why are these vampires holding you both like that? Hey! They have red eyes too; aren't they meant to be all blood crazed like Jasper was before Alice trained him to be all civilized? You said they don't even know how to dress, but these vampires look civilized and well dressed. What's going on?" Belinda asked as if Alice and Edward being restrained by hostile vampires was an everyday event.

'...But give her civilized human drinking vampires, and she's at a loss,' I mentally snickered , not impressed.

The Major was growling quietly from where he stood looming over Alice's crouched figure, not impressed either.

'Just what had been these two feeding this girl? Nothing true, by the sounds of it,' I thought, 'At least with me, Edward respected other's privacy, and told me that their stories were their own to tell.'

"Bella, love, what are you doing here? I said I'd visit you later," Someone was obviously not a happy camper. This poor girl had unintentionally and unarguably proven their guilt by just coming over. From the looks on the rest of the Cullens, this was all news to them.

'Brilliant!' I silently exclaimed within the shrouds of my mind, ''Bella' just might save the rest as well. She can keep Bella as a nickname if she wishes, I prefer Isa now, anyways.'

Besides, I knew why she was here; I set it up.

"Blake said that you had friends here, and you wanted them to meet me. He said that you sent him because you didn't have time to come get me yourself, and Alice was busy too. Did you not send him? Did I do something wrong?" 'Bella' started to look stressed.

I walked over to her and looked her in the eyes, and the effect was immediate. She calmed down. That was all the confirmation I needed; because sure enough, they held the glazed look of the thrall.

I pulled out my phone and called Blake. I started talking as soon as he picked up, "I needed you at the Cullen house yesterday. I was right, she is under the thrall. John okayed it for today, if it was bad enough to need to start immediately, and we will discuss the future requirements later. Get here on paws. It can't wait any longer, or she may be lost." I hung up, not waiting for a reply that I already knew.

"Dr. Cullen, come here."

He was beside me in a blink. Bella never reacted. I told him, "For your part in this mess, you will now be Bella's personal physician. You have no choice in the matter. I don't care if you have to drop your hours at the hospital or quit altogether, she is your first priority." When he didn't complain, I continued, "Now, look at her eyes. See the glazed look, that cloudiness? That's the thrall. Has she always had that since you have known her?" The whole time I spoke, I never lost eye contact with 'Bella'.

Blake would be here soon, and then I could start removing the thrall. From what I have gathered, she had been under for approximately two and a half years. This would need to be a slow process. I was pulled from my inner contemplating by Carlisle's voice.

"Yes, her eyes have always looked like that. I never studied psychology or psychiatry so assumed that it was attributed to her state of mind. In a way, I guess it was. Come to think of it, you had the same look, and I never paid it any attention, but yours would waver in and out of focus. Was that due to you fighting the thrall?"

'Yeah, I have the doctor in him that I need,' I nodded to myself in approval.

"I believe so. Esmé," I called for her so I could issue her 'punishment'. Just as her husband, she appeared in a blink, and this time there was a reaction from Bella. It was so slight that if I hadn't been looking for it, I would have missed it.

'Good, she is still trying to fight it,' I observed to myself, 'she is not completely lost to the thrall yet.'

I had seen it happen on a few occasions, and the human either had to remain under thrall or be put down. If their master were eliminated, killing them really was a kindness. Otherwise, they would go mad and try to remove any place the vampire had touched them; most were sexually abused under the thrall, so it made it worse. They also suffered for debilitating pain that nothing could ease; it would still be present in a medically induced coma. That was fun to try and explain to the human doctors.

I didn't think Bella was that far gone, and she wasn't.

"Esme, until Bella has fully recovered; she will be in your charge. If she is hungry, you will prepare her a proper meal. No matter what she needs of you, you will do it to the absolute best of your abilities. I don't care if she wants you to shave her legs, brush her teeth or wipe her ass, you do it. Understand?" As Esmé nodded, I heard Blake coming.

He phased back and dressed before leaving the tree line. Bella's eyes cleared a little more when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Blake, I am going to put the first layer of shielding on her when you are all set up. Go with Esmé and Carlisle and they will show you her new permanent room, you can then inform them of everything they need to know about what is going to happen, and what she will need. When you are done, holler and I'll begin." I had informed Blake of everything he would need to know earlier at the meeting.

He nodded and started telling Bella what was going to happen. Before Esmé left, she asked what to tell Bella's father when he asks why she is living here now.

"After Bella is settled, Carlisle and I will visit her father, and explain that I am a doctor friend that specializes in people with Bella's condition, and that to treat her she must remain under constant supervision. If not treated, she will keep deteriorating until there is nothing to be done. The treatment will take months, but at the end she should return to being the same girl she was prior to her ailment."

Esmé opened her mouth to say something, but I answered her knowingly.

"The only actual lie would be my status as a doctor. He will accept this as he loves his daughter, but works long and irregular hours. He will also be told that there will be no cost to himself or Bella. Now, you both need to get inside so Blake can brief you, and I can start the process. I will be needed for the next month or so, anything not pressing can wait for a more appropriate time. Now go."

They left, and we waited in silence until Blake called that they were ready. I saw Rosalie Emmet and Jasper listening intently to what Blake was saying aswell. When it was time I wrapped the thinnest layer of my mental shield around Bella's mind and felt the thrall recede ever so slightly.

I had discovered this about a hundred years ago; we came across a mated couple that had a group of orphans under the thrall because they wanted a family with children.

The orphans were not abused; just kept compliant. They would not survive the thrall being ripped from them, so I worked with my shield, slowly wrapping it around them one thin layer at a time. It took a few months, but they were free with no adverse effects. I was able to find them homes within shifter families that I had helped in the past, and they all lived full happy lives.

One even decided to be changed at the age of 35, and is now the leading expert on any human and shifter conditions caused by supernatural interference. She was the oldest orphan, and had understood that she was controlled by the thrall. Alissa still lives near the tribe she grew up with, and they call on her when the need a non-human doctor. I call her when needed, just as she calls me when she needs my help with thrall victims. And Aro could not stop me assisting, as it would fall under Volturi jurisdiction.

'Now for Emmett and Rosalie.'


	17. educations and negotiations

I looked at the two in question, and pondered for a moment. My head cocked in a very lupine manner, a trait I had picked up from Paul.

'I need to call the brothers before I decide,' I settled on my next corse of action.

These two, Jasper, and the oldies have done what they believed they could to distance themselves from all this. Though what I had observed indicates that they had learned something from their encounter with me, by not putting a stop to it completely they still had more to learn.

The wonder twins, however, hadn't learned a damned thing. But then again, they had always been the instigator. They thought of themselves as untouchable. Funny how things work out; never in their wildest dreams had they anticipated that the pet would become the master.

'Irony at its best,' I smirked to myself.

So for their efforts, most of the Cullen coven I'll let off on a lighter sentence, but they still need to be punished in some way.

'I think I'll make their punishments more of the educational variety where I can' I think in contemplation.

Apart from the instigators, I thought Carlisle needed a more involved punishment. He needed to learn to control his coven, and not let them walk all over him. All of this mess with baby swan could have been avoided, had he acted the leader his position in the family dictates.

'But that can be thought of later, it won't go into effect until, at least,' I thought, 'Bella has recovered.'

Now, before I did anything, I needed to consult Caius and Marcus. See what they thought about giving Aro a little gift to entice his acceptance of my counter offer.

Naturally, Chelsea's gift would keep Aro in line for the other brothers, but I thought a little red herring could help matters along nicely. Yes; I had, by now, decided to accept the position if my alternatives were agreeable, and Edward might just be the ticket I needed to get what I wanted.

'I'm not getting power-hungry at all,' I told myself, 'I'm just trying to look out for the best interest of others. It will have little to do with vampires outside my given jurisdiction, so I'm hopeful that they will be agreeable.'

I knew it was a fine line to walk, good thing I have perfect balance. 'I'll have to let the team know that I want them to tell me if they think I'm starting to cross the line. I know Garret and Peter will do that without hesitation' I remind myself with some relief.

I walked away from the main group, but remained in sight, and put a sound proof shield around myself. This way the call would remain private but I could still hear what's happening with them. I turned my back around so they couldn't read my lips either.

Caius picks up with a, "Is this a call that requires me to seek out Marcus in his study?"

Caius had always had a talent for anticipating my requests. I didn't know how he did it, but he normally had an answer for my first question or request even before I voiced it; a rare trait for the one in control.

'Or,' I smirk, 'Maybe, we just think along the same lines too often.'

"Yes, that would be of great necessity, considering the subjects I wish to raise in this conversation."

I heard the passing of air as Caius makes his way to Marcus' study. I must have piqued his interest for him to make such haste. I was expecting him to tell me he would ring back when he was ready.

"I am with Marcus in his study now. To what do we owe the pleasure of this call? I assume you have confronted the Cullens?"

'Ah,' I thought grimly, 'This explains his interest in this call.'

"Yes I have, that is part of the reason I am calling now. But first is the second part of your offer up for negotiation. I am almost at a final decision and I'm hoping for further inclusions to be discussed."

It was Marcus who replied, "Of course my dear, but I am curious as to your timing for this conversation."

"I can understand that the timing is peculiar. I must admit that it was while contemplating what consequences to issue the Cullens, that I came across the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. A means to sway, Aro mainly, and rid myself of a problem in one fell swoop. A gift and a punishment all in one pretty package."

"Hm?" This seemed to capture both their interest more than previously, if possible.

"The concessions I wish to discuss may superficially seem like a hunger for more power, but I am hoping that my reasoning will disprove this. I believe if you concede to my terms, it will be Aro that will cling to his belief that it is a quest for power that drives me, as it would be his driving force, if the situation was reversed." I sighed.

"Go on," Caius nudged me to proceed.

"The first item I want to put forward is to have jurisdiction over international shifter tribes. Those that agree to an alliance with me will have my protection as long as the treaty is not breached. This means issues involving them would need to go through me first, and if necessary, an investigation will be performed, to establish the validity of the matter at the time. Part of the alliance treaty will include that they are not to destroy any vampire outside their marked areas.

"In exchange, any vampire that escapes their clutches that is guilty of more than simply passing through their lands will be brought to trial so to speak. If the crime was the killing of an imprint, for example, the shifters will be compelled by their nature to seek revenge, just as a mated vampire would. The trial clause will minimize the chance of breaking the treaty when the reason behind such breach would be considered justifiable."

I knew that Marcus more than anyone would understand the need for that clause. This was proven by his next words.

"I would also add in that in the event that if a vampire being pursued is responsible for the death of a mate that the shifters may continue to pursue beyond their lands. But, they must not burn the vampire until a trial is held."

"Thank you Marcus I think that allowance will help greatly when the time comes to forge treaties outside the area I would be governing. The shifters know that I would do all I can to apprehend any vampire charged with such crimes but I doubt that they would have the same confidence in any other vampire in power."

That is a load off my shoulders now I was worried how the trial clause would go over with the international shifters.

"The next part: all unallied tribes need be given the opportunity to seek out a treaty with me, and reasonable restitution paid if proven necessary. You know I will not accept any shifters that have gone rogue, but you also know, without this put into the agreement, Aro will target the shifter tribes as a way of retaliation for being bested. This will..."

Marcus interrupted me, his voice in a bare whisper, "Tie his hands..."

"Yes," I agreed, smiling to myself, "As you can see I do not ask this in an effort to gain more power, but as a way to protect the shifters not on American soil. I don't want to see them killed for trumped up reasons just because Aro is pouting. This will also cut down the risk of the tribes banding together to go against vampires as a whole. I am in the process of possibly acquiring a diplomat that would facilitate the alliances and am open to debate on additional clauses."

Caius cleared his throat, perhaps to say something, but I didn't give him the chance as I continued.

"Caius, you said it yourself that the prophecy was an omen for my ascension to the U.S. throne, so you must agree that we must give credence to the part that states I 'will make allies of enemies'. The La Push shifters have already stated that the treaty excludes you. I imagine that most others will say the same. This way the treaty will protect all involved without the need for the shifters to ally themselves with all vampires. You have also witness their willingness to be civil with me, but other guards have had preventable bloodshed."

I stopped there to give them time to digest my argument. Without another word, there was a click on the line and I assumed that they had put me on mute while they conferred.

It was only a few minutes later that another click sounded on the line. They had come to a decision. They agreed with my assessment and the benefits as a whole that it would provide. They were content to come to an accord, but recognized that convincing Aro could pose to be problematic. They asked of my other request before we considered possible solutions.

I began, "The second will require more fineness in hammering out the details. As you are aware, Alissa consults me on thrall victims, and gains my assistance when needed. As such I think it essential to grant her and any victims in her charge diplomatic immunity. Also, all thrall perpetrators should be placed in her custody if required for the duration of the victim's recovery, at such time, or if they are not needed, custody of said perpetrator is to be turned over to the governing body of the area that the original crime was committed.

"Who would provide the guards needed to detain perpetrators?" Caius asked. It was expected. Caius is more military as a pose to politically minded.

"Alissa has a coven that she is the head of now, made up of vampires capable of handling prisoners if required. She also has an alliance with her human-shifter family, so keeping control of the criminals will not be an issue. She will not require guards to assist her during the time these vampires are essential to their victims' rehabilitation. By having the criminals returned to the rightful rulers for trial once they are no longer required for the rehabilitation, should prevent us stepping on each other's toes on this matter."

There was a momentary pause as both Caius and Marcus remained silent, pondering on my words. And then once again there was a click on the line and I was left standing pressing the phone to my ears as the brothers conferred. They came to agree with my suggestions.

Caius spoke, "I see that, Isabella, you have put a lot of consideration in to this. We can tell from your compelling arguments that these things might just happen regardless of our decision. You bringing them to us afford us some control over these situations. That in itself only further proves we have not put our faith in the wrong person."

Marcus took over, "Moreover, you have not asked for anything that does not benefit another. You are more concerned about your future subjects' welfare and give little regard to what you could gain. These are qualities of a great ruler."

"If it had been Aro or even myself that had asked for this there would be concerns that you were trying to form an army to overthrow us. But as Marcus pointed out that your concerned for the wellbeing of the shifters world-wide and if I know you as well as I belive I do I doubt the potential for an army even entered your mind." Caius finished.

Now that was a pep talk and a half. I decided that if I were ever to find myself doubting my abilities as Queen, I might just give Marcus and Caius a call.

Now for Aro.

"Now my proposal to cajole Aro would be to offer him a gifted pet, possibly two, depending on the outcome of later interrogation. Aro has wanted to get his hands on Edward for a very long time. No?"

Both the brothers agreed with a disgruntled sound from the back of their throat; it made me laugh.

"Well, recent development will facilitate this," I told them, "But...this gift comes with stipulations. Firstly Edward is to be bound by Chelsea to all three of you equally, his incarceration can be for as long as you rule if you please." I pause so that they can absorb the implications of them all having equal loyalty from Edward. It wont take them long to realise that this offers another level of security regarding Aro as well as keeping Aro content.

I could tell when it clicked as it was hard to miss the satisfied hums from both of them.

"Secondly, he is to be treated like a pet, not placated, or given what he wants, like Jane is . He is a mangy dog with a nifty trick and nothing more. Edward likes to turn humans into his pets, by dazzling them, let's see how he feels being made a pet himself." The brother chuckled at the poetic justice.

"Oh, and just to let you know, he may not arrive completely intact. The normal punishment for his known crimes would be instant death. I think death would be too easy for what he has done. This seems more fitting."

I could almost imagine the twitch of Caius's eyes.

"...Depending on what occurs during my interrogation, I may throw in his sister as a bonus, she deserves the same treatment, but I can't confirm that as of yet. He may just get her head, her gift may still work. But I have promised the Major his retribution."

They chuckled again at the last and asked what my deal was with heads.

They agreed that the mind reader might be just enough, even if he arrived minus a few limbs, to sway Aro without anything else. They also agreed that, if Alice's gift still works as just a head, if not the head and torso, adding her as well would guarantee Aro's agreement.

"...If even that's not possible," Caius added, "Then we will have to make do."

I could hear the smirk in his voice.

So it was agreed that I would take the U.S throne in less than six months, and we would be able to iron out all the kinks by then.

Now what to do with Emmett and Rosalie... What, indeed.

.


	18. the rosalie and emmet factor

AN: To all my readers I just wanted to let you know I'm back and I am sooooooooooooo sorry it took so long for me to post again. Unfortunately I had some major technical difficulties (read computer died in the ass) that have now been rectified so I should be able to update on a semi regular basis from now on (unless life decides to kick my ass again). Also I would like to apologise for the short chap but to make it up to you all I'll make sure I post a longer one in the next few hours or so. As always thank my betas for fixing all my mistakes so that you, the reader have a more enjoyable time reading.

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Before I left my sound proof bubble, I rang John. He agreed that Blake could stay as long as he was needed. Blake was the only pack member not greatly affected by our scent, so it makes him ideal for this detail. I added him as another of Esme's charges. Food and accommodations would be the main things that he would require.

I turned to the remaining vampires only to be met with Peter dropping a piece of helpful information on me, "The head will work as needed, and don't worry; Jane will be able to get it to do what it's told."

Thankfully Peter kept his words cryptic enough that the others could not understand him. It seemed to be working out better than I had hoped. Turning my attention back to the family, I called for Emmett and Rosalie to step forward.

"For your part in this mess," I told them, "You both are to be Bella's guards for the immediate future. You will not be cut off from your family, Edward and Alice excluded."

"The other part will require Emmett and a guard of my choosing to escort some 'packages' to Volterra, but his safe passage will be arranged prior to departure. This is the fairest punishment I can think of, if this matter was handled by the brothers, death would be on the table. You must be disciplined in some manner for this, or the brothers will take this matter out of my hands, and that is something none of us want" I cataloged them and assataind that they had a proper grasp of the situation. " The kings are not very creative in their chastisement, it is serving time with them or death, and I assume you want neither," I added, "I did not serve your time to have you sent there anyway." The last statement was meet with a solemn silence.

I explained more than I needed to, so that Rosalie knew I wasn't doing this to be petty. They accepted their penalty with grace, and a gratitude that they didn't have to face the alternative.

This inspired the appropriate final punishment for Carlisle. 'After Bella has recovered, perhaps I would send him to work with Alissa for a year. That way he could learn about supernatural medicine, and how to control a coven while still being compassionate. He and Alissa had a lot of the same traits, but she had stepped up and been an actual leader.' I let the thought roll around in my mind for a moment.

'This will prevent future indiscretion, and he might agree to be employed as the U.S version of Alissa; untying her more from obligations. If that happens, she could just bring them over, and transfer the thrall victims' care to Carlisle, if they needed my involvement.' God I'm a genius, if I do say so myself.

Jasper's punishment would be decided at the very last; it will be depending a lot upon the wonder twins, and what else they have done that has yet to be uncovered.

'We shall see,' I told myself, 'But for now, it's time to get some more answers.'


	19. a almost guest apearence of Ares

AN: another chapter as promised

I approached the Major who still looked lost in his bubble.

"Major Whitlock," I had his attention instantly, "I am going to ask you a few questions which I need you to answer honestly." I held his gaze, and continued, "Do not give me answers that you think will get you what you want. Keep in mind that I've yet to decide your fate, and therefore, lying to me won't endear me to you in any way. Trust me, you don't want that. Do you understand the importance of honesty?"

The Major nodded before verbally backing it up, "Affirmative, ma'am."

"And are you willing to honestly establish the validity of Alice's answers?"

"Yes ma'am, I am. If I am unsure of the level of deception or truth, I will advise you of that as well. In addition I would be happy to increase her honesty, compliance and cooperation."

The certainty in his firm voice pleased me. This was good; having a lie detecting empath would be helpful. Though his gift was fallible, I had no concerns about that at the moment. To lie with your emotions not only took practice, but concentration as well. Alice wouldn't have much concentration to spare once the Major got started on her. I doubted that the Major's truth serum has ever been administered to Alice either.

'That'll mean that she has had no practice in beating it,' I chuckled to myself, 'All the better.'

"Thank you. That would be most helpful. Now for the big question that I need you to really think about. This is the main reason I gave you the warning. Are you aware of your limitations, Major? Do you believe you can control yourself enough to keep from attacking Alice until I give you permission?"

I watched the Major contemplate over it, and when he didn't answer right away, I continued, "If not, I will have to keep you in my physical shield. Before you answer, I'll let you know the limitations are going to depend on two things. One, the information gathered, and two, her future punishment after you have had your vengeance. There is a high possibility that she will not die today." The sharp look that he gave me almost made me smile, and so I added in assurance, "But be certain that she will suffer."

The Major took a few seconds to think over the situation. I could see it in his eyes; he was weighing all the possibilities. At last he spoke, true to himself, "I cannot honestly say that I will not attempt to attack her prematurely, however, I would like to offer an alternate solution." He paused and when I didn't say anything, he took it as a sign to continue, "Place Alice in your physical shield, and let Peter and Garrett step away from her. I can't guarantee that my emotional manipulations won't get out of hand in the heat of the event and unintentionally affect them in the process."

I chewed on the idea for a moment and agreed that it was indeed a wise option. I encased Alice first, as soon as that happened Peter and Garrett flanked me. I then released the Major from his cage and he stepped up beside Peter.

"Great to finally have you back Major," Peter patted Jasper on the back, and then had the nerve to add, "I was afraid that the midget had pussyfided you beyond all help. So when did you retrieve your balls from her designer purse?"

I had to do a mental face palm at the comment. I wondered if Peter was firing on all cylinders today. The Major was out for the first time in over 400 years, and he wanted to tease him?

'And they say I have no self-preservation,' I mused to myself drily.

Jasper's response was a lethal glare, which thankfully had Peter backing down and shutting up. I nodded at the Major to start the interrogation. I don't think he will be pleased with the answers that would come his way, and it could very well put him in a worse frame of mind, but it might also cause him to use more vicious persuasions, which would be both satisfying as well as productive.

"Alice, was our entire relationship just manipulations? Was our first meeting planned?" Jasper asked in a barely contained rage.

He was pumping out his mojo in copious amounts. I could feel the pressure in the air and quickly shielded everyone else so they didn't get the backlash.

"Yes to both. I needed a fighter to protect me, in case any of my toys turned on me. I had a vision of you fighting in the wars. I then saw you leave with Peter and Garrett. I saw you go out on your own, because of your depression, and knew that if I played it right, and sent you all the positive emotions you needed at the time, you would come with me..." her voice was airy and confident. That cocktail of emotions is powerful stuff.

"...I had to keep you away from them, or you would figure me out, and leave. Edward and I made you slip whenever we started to lose control of you, and your guilt would consume you. We forced more guilt at you then you actually felt..." She grinned as if proud of herself.

"...When I first had a vision of Isabella, I knew we had to keep you on a tighter leash until we had her completely submissive to us, then Edward could drain most of her blood, and turn her. You were also good to keep as you unconsciously absorbed the blood lust from the family, making it easier for us to control. Dressing you up like I did was just a way to flaunt the control I had over you." Alice answered arrogantly.

I wondered what he put in the go-go juice he was giving her. What she had done to him alone was repugnant. I could see his demon rattling its cage. If it got loose, it would take a miracle to get it contained in a timely manner. The Major needed help regaining control.

"Garrett, go to the car and grab the cooler full of blood bags I stored there and bring them to me NOW." I ordered quickly, re-caging the Major again.

"Major I need you to stay in control." I took a bag from Garrett and passed it to Jasper, "Drink this. It will help. From now on you will only feed on human blood. If I am unable to shield a live meal for you, you will feed on blood bags. The Bambi diet has weakened your control more than you realize. We need the major here, not Ares."

The blood was gone in seconds and I saw comprehension begin to return. I kept passing him bags until he was in control again. It took 9 bags, but Ares was firmly back in his cage, and I removed my shield again.

"Are you ready to continue, or do you need a moment with Garrett and Peter in another clearing?" The major took off, and at my nod Peter and Garret followed. I wasn't surprised he needed to blow off some aggression, and taking it out on trees just wouldn't cut it.

'I did put 'armor' over the boys to prevent new bites, but other than that, let them have at it,' I inwardly shrugged.

Alice's emotions returned to her own, and I could see the moment realization hit her. Edward had been quiet the whole time. I think the death grip Felix had on his neck had loads to do with his silent cooperation. Alice looked Edward in the eyes, and they both knew that regardless of what happen from now on, it would change nothing.

Edward and Alice were fucked no matter what.

'They have dug their own graves.' I ran a tongue over my lips, a silent sense of satisfaction coursing within me.


	20. family call me Rose

AN: hi all I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update but rl is kicking my ass and I'm a full time uni student as well. Updates will be slow but there wont be anywhere near as big a gap as before. I'm hoping to update at least once a month. Thank you to all those who stayed loyal and all the review I have gotten over my long absence. Any way on with the story.

It was about an hour later that the boys returned, looking rather disheveled. By their appearance alone, I was assured that the Major had worked off all his excessive aggression. And with his demon, was once again, firmly under control, hopefully now the rest of the questioning would go uninterrupted.

'I doubt it,' I couldn't help but to think bitterly, my eyes flickering to Alice and back to the boys again. 'I highly doubt it'

For a moment I watched them joking and shoving each other like the old friends they were, before I made a slight noise in the back of my throat. The effect was instantaneous as they straightened up and resumed their previous positions.

I took note that the Major looked ready to take care of business; that much was obvious by his stance.

As soon as the boys were positioned, I watched carefully as Alice's unsettled demeanor changed into a manufactured mask of arrogance and superiority. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Major's slight inclination of his head, indicating that he was ready to keep the mojo going.

With a slight smirk tugging at the corner of my lips, I addressed Alice and posed my very first question.

"You mentioned your first vision of me. You made it sound as though there was a considerable time between it, and our first encounter in Forks. Explain!" I demanded of her.

All the Cullen's seemed to stiffen at my question, obviously not having picked on Alice's slip like I had.

'How many other times have they missed such slips of the tongue?' I wondered idly.

It was not lost on me that my boys remained unruffled, they too having read in between the lines.

'But that's exactly why they are with me. I don't consort with incompetence when it comes to shits like these,' I couldn't help but snort inwardly, 'The Cullens really need to lose their rose-colored glasses.'

I could see the strain of fighting against the Major's influence reflected openly in Alice's face; as her honey colored eyes dulled and the corners of her mouth twitched ever so slightly, before, finally, succumbing to it. The fact she tried to fight it in the first place did not bode well with me.

"My first vision of you was when you were born. It was of you being crowned Queen," she said flatly.

By the look on her face, I could tell the words tasted like vinegar on her tongue and it took some effort to keep myself from laughing outright at her face. The gasp from all but my guard was not unexpected either. However, I was rather interested in the sneer on Edward lips, and how much it revealed his feelings on the subject.

'Another omen to my assertion. Damn,' I found myself thinking rather softly, 'There just might not be any way of getting out of it now.'

"SHIT" I thought with feeling, thought by the look on everyone's face I said it out loud. 'oops'. I just shrug my shoulders in response, and look at Alice pointedly so she knew to continue.

"With you as queen, we would not be able to take over the Volturi. Jasper wasn't just kept to protect me. When we joined the family, Edward and I agreed that with both our powers we were meant to rule..."

'Her arrogance just continues to astound me,' I grimaced inwardly.

"...However, you being crowned would prevent that."

She gave a pause, like she was waiting for a special effect that accompanies big revelations in the movies. Other than the Cullens who looked like it took some effort for her revelations to sink in, she got no reaction.

'But then again why would she? We weren't expecting anything better of her,' I mused.

Now that she was aware of the emotions being sent, she was trying to fight them, however futile the effort. She continued reluctantly, "I checked my visions and saw you move to Forks when you were 17, and we had the family move here the year beforehand, so it wouldn't look like we moved here just for you. If we used the thrall on you, then you would no longer become queen."

'Someone really needs to clue her in on what a self for filling prophecy is.'

"..But you being Edwards's singer was an unexpected surprise. Him having to go to Alaska changed things, and you were fighting the thrall more than we expected," She finished through gritted teeth.

So it was all a set up for me. It seemed like fate really wanted me as a queen, no doubt about it. Well, any misgivings I might have had about being a queen are now shot to pieces and simply gone. Alice had just confirmed I was born to be a queen. As I thought before.

'FUCK!' I though only in my head this time, showing no outward sign of my inner cursing.

"What of the three nomads at the baseball game?" This was something that had bugged me for a while. Alice would have 'seen' them in the area as soon as they decided to head this way. There had been vamp killings in Forks for weeks prior.

'And one would think that they would keep their pet away until they knew that they had left the area for good.' It just didn't add up.

"The nomads were a set up. I knew they would be there, and we only thought they would scare you into submission so you wouldn't fight the thrall so much. We didn't anticipate James wanting you so badly.

We couldn't let you change then, because we didn't have enough control over you. We had Carlisle try to save you while Edward got the venom out."

"Pity your blood was tainted with venom," Edward mumbled, but we all heard. That side comment had Felix tightening his grip earning a whimper from the imbecile.

'Pussy, you don't know what pain is,' I thought as I looked down upon the simpering little bitch.

"You were only good to us as human then. Dead would have been inconvenient, but vampire, would be plain catastrophic to our plans. We were going to turn you for your shield, but needed you to stop fighting the thrall completely first. If we turned you while completely under the thrall, you would wake as our pet."

Alice kept talking quickly, taking the attention away from Edward, as if he hadn't spoken.

"...Ripping the thrall away and returning later was meant to do just that, but your supposed death stopped our plans, until we could find a powerful enough shield to get around the gifted guards. With you and Jasper as our weapons, we had what we needed to take over Volturi."

So that was what the parasitic cysts wanted to take over the vampire world. The issues with the thrall aside, they were absolutely blind to the fallibility of their own gifts. Their gifts were indeed powerful if wielded correctly, something they would soon learn when I have them shipped to the brothers.

Aro would be disappointed in the training they needed, of course. Caius was able to teach Aro one thing with regards to gifted vampires, regardless of the fact he didn't have one himself. It was a lesson that Caius and I learned together. It wasn't until Aro noticed that Caius's gifted guards were stronger than his own, even though the original gifts were weaker, that Aro listened.

Gifts are like weapons, they all have their strengths, weaknesses and limitations. Any weapons master would tell you that knowing the strengths will make one powerful until faced with someone who knows and understands the weaknesses and limitations. Knowing your fallibilities gives you the opportunity to counterbalance or strategize around them.

It also affords you the chance to seek out those who compliment said weaknesses. I, for example have a talent for thinking outside the box, and coming up with means to defeat an enemy, such as weapons, but struggle with implementing a plan to best use them, so I have surrounded myself, not with like thinkers, but strategists.

'Dumb and dumber had the tools needed to fulfill their desire, but lacked the ability to use them.'

Jasper was a master at war strategies, combined with my outside-the-box thinking, the right motivation, and what was available to us, we could have planned a successful attack on Volturi 350 years ago. He already understood what we had to discover about weapons.

The fools had overlooked this only seeing him as a fighter, a weapon, and me as a shield and nothing more. Fortunately they were too arrogant or else they would have very much succeeded. Now back to the issue of baby Swan.

'I wonder...'

"Is Belinda the only other human that you made a pet out of?" I asked. From what I have known in the past, there is never so large a space of time between victims. It's like serial killers, with a few exceptions, like BTK (who was able to channel his urges into something else), they just don't stop for no reason.

"Belinda wasn't the first since you. There were over a dozen others. He was going to return at a later date and drain most of your blood then change, you but you were then suddenly believed dead."

I cocked an eyebrow to indicate she should continue.

"This started as an obsession over anyone remotely like you. He had four requirements; one, for them to have brown eyes. The closer to your human eyes, the better. Two, they had to be in their teens. Three, their first name always had to have a nickname that Bella was appropriate for, Belinda, Isabelle, Belle and such. And lastly, their surname had to be related to Swan; Cygnet, Swanson, Swanman, even things like Svan would do him if the first three were ideal."

'Just like a serial killer, he even has a victim profile' I internally sighed. Sometimes I hate being right. I mentally shake the thought from my head.

She paused for an unneeded breath.

"He would dazzle them and keep them as pets, as sex toys and slaves at a residence near the main house. Belinda was the first he brought home since you. She was the first that challenged him for control, and her blood didn't sing to him but it was close..."

She was suddenly interrupted by Rosalie. Her viscous growl directed at Edward had him trying to cower in Felix and Demitri's grip. Our earlier conversation showing her that the 'sex toys' were really rape victims. With her past, the need to destroy Edward was hardly any mystery.

I looked over at the Major and silently asked to calm her. This seemed to enrage her more so.

"Rosalie," I raised my voice to be heard over her growls, the demand for her attention and authority clear in my tone. It was enough to have her growls subside enough to be able to hear me easily, and she stood straighter and looked directly at me.

"I know what you are thinking and how you feel about this information. I do not begrudge you or your reaction." She look as if she was going to take that as a green light, so I hastily continued. "However, I need for you to control yourself so we can continue the questioning. If you need time to collect yourself, by all means do take it."

Without pause, she immediately took off into the woods. I nodded for Emmet to follow and told him we would await their return. It wasn't long and they were back. Rosalie was still looking every bit as furious, but at least she was back in full control now.

'But for how long I wonder. I'll have to keep an eye on her too.'

I nodded to Alice to keep going and she went on as if she hadn't stopped, "I think he thought she was the closest to being your replacement that he was ever going to find, and was going to keep her as long as he could before she became his meal. You were only going to be changed for your gift. After we had you under control first, of course. Otherwise you would have just ended up a meal too."

This didn't surprise me at all but the quiet, barely suppressed growls from all present made it obvious no one was happy with this development.

I quirked a brow, 'How...cute.'

"He would tell the family that he had to leave her, and would hide until his eyes were golden again, claiming he needed time alone because he was depressed. I helped him, and he monitored Jasper. He even let me play with his pets."

This enraged me, but I didn't let it slip through the cool facade I had carved for myself in all these years. However, the rest of the audience seemed to have no qualms about letting loose their emotions of raw fury, especially Rosalie who was already pissed as it was.

'Like putting a keg on a bon fire, just sit back and wait for the potentially fatal BOOM'

It was Esme who moved first, flickering from her place beside Carlisle, she appeared in front of Edward the next second. There was something on her face that I had never witnessed before in all my time with their family, and I could hardly grasp it. And before anyone could blink, let alone stop her, she had had removed his dick.

I almost cringed. Now, I was not a male but _damn,_ that had to hurt; if his screams were any indication. Every male around winced. The only one who seemed unruffled by the whole thing was Rosalie, and it didn't really surprise me.

Nah Rosalie didn't cringe, she looked smug. And it made me want to laugh out loud.

"You think yourself above others, no? A legend in your own mind?" Esme spoke, her face absolutely livid as she stared down at the son that she had loved like her very own all this time.

"You... You are nothing but a disgrace to this family, and as a man. And I forevermore disavow any kinship to you," She cast a glance at the other side of the room at Alice, before adding, "And your wretched sister there."

For a moment Alice stared right back into Esme's eyes full of contempt, and after what seemed a long time, she withdrew her sight down to her feet.

'As she should, the evil bitch.'

Esme's attention was back to Edward, as she again began to speak, her voice firm and filled with disgust, "You like to rape innocent girls, do you? Well, no matter the punishment that befalls you for your selfish actions, I will ensure you can never defile another with this!"

She held up his dick like it was a contagious STD as she said the last part, and Rosalie appeared next to her mother looking rather sadistic, as she joyously handed the older woman a lighter. With its small size it didn't take long to burn. The scream as his dick turned to ash was deafening. But yet, in a very twisted way it was enjoyable, you'd to admit so.

As soon as the ash blew away, in a sudden gust of wind, Carlisle too appeared beside his mate. He spoke no words to the deviants, just removed their Cullen crest in silent support of Esme's disownment.

I was watching as Carlisle wrapped a hand around Esme who appeared to be her normal demur self, as if she didn't just burn her sons penis. He turned to me and said solemnly, "Whatever you decide to do with these two will be met with no resistance from any Cullen, and I will do all in my power to discourage any fallout from any allies to the family. I will also warn you of any backlash regarding this, that I am made aware of. At this point in time I can only foresee that Tanya of the Denali coven may become problematic." He told me earnestly, and I found myself appreciating his honesty and his show of loyalty.

I should tell him that Tanya was up for judgment soon, for her part in my torture.

'Nah, I think I'll leave that for story time.'

I did hope that he takes full advantage of the time he will be ordered to spend with Alissa, and consider a position as a doctor in my ranks when I take over the Americas.

Before I let the Major have his vengeance and Edward got his comeuppance, I had a call to make, and then wrap everything up with a few last words. The call was short, but I explained the situation to Caius, and let him and Marcus deal with Aro and whatever hissy fit the later might throw.

I was to be informed of Aro's decision shortly.

While we waited I sent Emmett and Demetri to obtain some lead-lined boxes, to store some parts in for transport. Demetri had a contact in P.A. that had just what we needed, so they would only take an hour or so to return. The rest of us waited in silence. Esmé and Carlisle had returned to their original post with Bella.

About half an hour later Rosalie approached. She asked, looking chagrined, "Isabella, may I have a moment?"

Curious as to what she might have to say to me, I nodded my assent.

She hesitated as if not entirely sure of herself, but decided to continue anyway, "I just...want to take this opportunity to apologize for my behavior towards you when you were still human. I had valued your humanity and didn't want you to throw it away on a whim."

"Hm?"

"You see, I never believed Edward was your mate, if I did, I would have been more supportive. I know the pull your mate can have on you. I had Carlisle change Emmett in the first place because of this mating pull I had felt in the first place. Emmett was able to show me the best this life has to offer, but I still feel that humans have the better option. I even now yearn for a human life sometimes. The opportunity to have a family and grow old."

Well, this certainly was interesting; such level of affection coming from the one whom I believed to have pitied my very existence.

The blonde didn't seem to have noticed my amusement in the matter, and gushed on, "I didn't want you to give that up for someone who was not worthy of the sacrifice, let alone the perfect one for you. For this reason, I stopped Emmett from staying when the family left. I believed that you could have led the life you were meant to lead before all our interference. I was wrong, and I am really sorry we were not here to help protect you and your loved ones from Victoria."

'And to think that she actually bought herself to admit all these, pride and arrogance be gone!'

I was very amused by her antics and just watched as she went to staring down at her toes, her head bowed once she was done. It seemed like she was being as sincere as her words had sounded. And this was the longest I had ever heard her speak. Her speech showed more than anything her true nature that she hid behind the mask of an ice queen.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and waited until she met my red eyes with her venom filled golden ones.

"Rosalie, I do not blame you or hold a grudge against you or Emmett. I had theorized that the reason for you two leaving were along those lines. As for your behavior, it actually kind of helped a little." I smiled a small smile.

"I..." She seemed to be at a loss.

I explained, "Your attitude was rather similar to what mine was without the thrall. I was sarcastic, had a hard time trusting new people in my life, and loyal to a fault when it came to those I claimed as family. These things I saw in you. The ice bitch routine was a defensive mechanism to an unpredictable situation."

That earned me a small grateful smile I could tell she understood the point I was making. I think she was also glad to finally have someone that did understand why she was the way she was, with near perfect clarity.

"I also saw your loyalty to Alice and Edward was more obligatory than loyalty earned through true attachment. It helped me fight back the thrall a little. Though it wasn't much, what helped the most were you reminding me of why I kept fighting. I knew of the circumstances surrounding your change. I admired your strength of character after something that should have broken you. It was the same type of strength that made it possible for me to transcend the limitations of what I should have been capable of as a human. The ability to survive what, no other ever could."

That shattered her mask completely. If she could, I knew there would be tears streaming down her face.

"You see all that in me?" She breathed out in awe. Rosalie was yet to recognize her own strength, it seemed. Having them laid out like that would probably make it a lot easier. I knew that her turning left her felling like a victim. But she was never a victim. Like me, she is a survivor.

I turned to address Emmet as to allow Rosalie to collect herself, "Emmett you set the standard of what my future brothers had to attain before I would claim them as so. You showed loyalty and protectiveness that other brothers could only hope to emulate. Your striving for the happiness of your loved ones is a trait I wish more people had. Your childish and outlandish behavior was your way of achieving this."

I paused as I felt my phone vibrate, and raised my finger as a sign of being excused for a moment. I quickly read the text I received from Caius. Aro had agreed to my additions so long as he receives Edward and Alice in _useable _condition, and I allow Chelsea maintain the use of her gift on Volturi personnel and subjects outside my jurisdiction when needed. This now allowed me to start building my contingent.

Hiding a smile, I turned back to Emmet, "Yeah so, Emmett your oafish nature hides a very intuitive mind that is underappreciated and discounted. It is to the detriment of others to underestimate you; you would make a good guard for those that are victims in need of protection. Your demeanor would soon set them at ease and afford them much-needed comfort and safety. Things like this can dramatically benefit their recovery."

I then turned to Rosalie, "Rosalie, you too are also well suited for a position like this. Your past gives you a unique perspective on this type of situation. Not only can you sympathize with abuse victims, your inherent nature drives your instincts to protect those who cannot protect themselves, just as a lioness will do everything including sacrificing their own life to the protection of her cubs, or those in her charge. Though not always in an obvious manner."

I paused to allow them to process what I had said and implied. After a few moments as they continued to stare at each other, I continued, "This is why I assigned you both as Bella's guards and I am going to offer you both a position of similar nature. I will explain more of this soon. So you see Rosalie; neither you nor your mate has anything to be sorry for. As for not being here for Victoria's wrath, you would not have been able to prevent it. Only give her more victims to torture me with."

After what seemed like an eternity, the couple was finally to be able to break their eye-contact. Emmett seemed positively astonished in a very childish manner that was just his way, and it was Rosalie who bowed her head deep, having finally absorbed my words. And then she snapped her head back right up with a blinding and welcoming smile that in my previous life, I would have never imagined her to be capable of possessing.

"Family calls me Rose."


End file.
